Secrets Kept
by hysterical laughter
Summary: Echizen ryoma is acting strange, distant and uncaring... different, so different it worries the other regulars and straight after nationals he runs away... secrets are revealled as the regulars follow his trail
1. Prologue

**Secrets Kept**

**I don't own Prince of tennis and you should be glad that i don't b/c it wouldn't be good... **

**Prologue:**

"Echizen seems completely out of it," said Kawamura, as the other regulars watched their freshman having a match against the wall; hitting the centre of the circle on the wall with every shot.

"I agree," said Inui, "His speed has dropped 10, accuracy by 2 and concentration by 50..."

"Echizen!" ordered Tezuka. This caused Ryoma to snap back into the real world and caused him to hit the ball harder than expected. The ball soured into the centre and embedded itself into the brick wall.

"Hai…?"

"10 laps for putting down you're guard," ordered Tezuka. Ryoma didn't say a word as he started his laps; no confirmation that he understood the order or no back talk or complaints.

"Ochibi didn't complain!" exclaimed Eiji.

Ryoma continued to be lost in his own world once again, as he ran his laps, not caring of his surroundings.

"_Can you do this for Okaa-san?"_

"_Hai…"_

Ryoma looked up at the sky and murmured, "It's going to be stormy…"

"_I need to talk to you… its very important"_

"_Oyaji… can it wait until after the nationals?"_

Like he predicted, the rain came 'unexpectedly'. And the rain came down like buckets.

"Everyone inside!" ordered Tezuka. Ryoma continued to run laps as if everything was normal, as all the regulars ran into the locker room. "Echizen inside now…!"

"I've got one more lap…" said Ryoma as he continued to run.

"Echizen, get inside before you catch a cold!" said Oishi in worry.

"Ochibi is being stubborn again," pouted Eiji.

Moments later Ryoma walked into the club room like any other day and went straight to his locker to get changed.

"Echizen… don't you want a hot shower?" asked Oishi in worry, "You were in the rain for an awfully long time…"

"Iie… I usually take cold showers anyway," said Ryoma, as he wringed his wet clothes in a bucket near by.

"I guess we're stuck here," said Fuji. "I hope the finals aren't like this… don't you agree Echizen?"

There was no answer and they all turned to see Ryoma wrapped in a blanket from who knows where, and he was sitting on the window sill staring out into the storm. His eyes were distant and unreadable.

"_I want you to meet someone special, this is Luna…"_

"_It's only been one week!" _

Ryoma's eyes reflected a raging storm; at the same time it was misty and mysterious.

"_Let Okaa-san tell you a story of my first love… his name was Takeuchi Ren…"_

"Echizen… Echizen…!" Ryoma snapped back into reality as he felt someone shaking his shoulders. He turned to see Oishi shaking him; behind him were the rest of the regulars looking worried.

"Did you need something?" asked Ryoma in a bored tone, this somehow worried the regulars further.

"Are you alright, Echizen?" asked Oishi.

"Why shouldn't I be?" asked Ryoma.

"You seem… distracted," hesitated Oishi.

"I'm fine," insisted Ryoma as he tried to look annoyed. Notice the word 'tried'.

Tezuka looked at him with critical eyes, "Everyone, get some rest…"

"Hai!" answered everyone; Ryoma turned back and watched the storm outside.

"Ochibi get some sleep, Okay?" said Eiji.

"Hai, sempai," answered Ryoma, not moving an inch from the window. They all shared a worried look, but couldn't do anything about it.

The next morning the first to wake up was Fuji; his eyes snapped open to see Ryoma still perched on the window still looking out at the still raining sky.

"Did you not go to sleep, Echizen?" asked Fuji. There was no answer.

"Echizen…! It's bad to stay up all night!" panicked Oishi as he woke up and saw Ryoma.

Ryoma blinked and looked over at the others with a blank look, "Huh…?"

"Echizen… When you go home… go straight to bed," ordered Tezuka. Everyone was surprised, including Tezuka himself, he never thought be would be ordering Ryoma to go to sleep, it would usually be for him to wake up.

"Hai…" said Ryoma in his usual bored tone.

**Well thats the prologue... tell me what you think...**


	2. Chapter 1

**Secrets Kept**

**OMG! that's the most reviews i have ever gotten for a story! i would give you all a hug but i'm not there to physically hug you... lol oh well... thanx for all the reviews and i'll try to update fast... just a fore warning... somehow all my storys sound good at the start and then get weird wen it continues... lol**

**CHAPTER ONE**

Everyone watched as Ryoma made a fool of himself on court as he went against Yukimura. Without his sight, hearing or touch, he couldn't do anything but try. Ryoma knew he looked pitiful; he knew he took it too far when he faked amnesia; also he knew his team mates were suffering because of it. However, he had to buy time…

"_Please… he does not deserve this!"_

"_He's my son… my property…"_

Ryoma's eyes widened as he let go of his racquet, and could somehow feel it slip through his fingers and drop onto the court.

"_I'm grateful to you… I only married you because you bore a boy… for that I'm grateful…"_

Ryoma dropped to his knees and held his head, his eyes started to dilate, "No…"

Yukimura watched as once again he knew that his opponent was panicking for the lost of his senses like all the other opponents before him. 'It's only a matter of time before he forfeits…'

"Echizen/Ochibi!" called out the regulars in worry.

"I DON"T WANT TO REMEMBER!" screamed Ryoma, which surprised everyone. The next thing he did caused panic throughout the whole stadium. He hit his head intentionally onto the court, Ryoma didn't move for several minutes and a few thought that he was out cold. Before anyone could move, Ryoma started to move. His hands moved first, his right hand reaching for the racquet next to him before lifting himself off the ground. His eyes still the same, pupil less but, his eyes showed warmth and kindness; at the same time it showed sadness and anguish. Everyone did a double take as they saw Ryoma. On his face was a soft and warm smile.

Everyone noticed the change in aura around the freshman. It was calming but yet at the same time even stronger than ever before. Ryoma held the tennis ball in his left hand and tossed it; it was a right handed serve. Even before anyone could blink the ball was already at the other side rolling away on the floor.

"Referee-san…" came the calm and warm voice they couldn't recognise, "please make the call…"

"EH…? Umm… Sorry but I didn't see it," admitted the referee. The stuttered, "M…M… Monitor!"

'Neither did we,' thought everyone.

On the big screen they watched in slow mode, however it was still very fast, they had to slow it down once again and they could see that the ball was in.

"Fi… fif… fifteen… Love," stuttered the referee.

"Keep a close eye now," said the warm, kind voice, "you'll miss it if you don't…"

"He's a completely different person…" said Momo.

"A split personality…?" guessed Kaidoh.

"Is it the pinnacle of perfection?" asked a person.

"Iie…" said Ryoma, as colour slowly came back to his eyes, "I can never open that door beyond Muga… not like this…"

"H… How can Yukimura-buchou be getting aced?" exclaimed a Rikkai member.

"If… if he can't open the last door… then no one can!" said a person.

"Ochibi looks like he's in pain," cried Eiji.

"The bump on his head must be hurting," panicked Oishi.

"No… it looks like tennis is painful for Ochibi!"

"Eiji is right, Echizen looks pained when he's playing tennis," said Fuji with open eyes.

"_Do you like tennis?"_

"_I like what you likes…?"_

"_No… Do YOU like it?"_

Ryoma closed his eyes painfully, as a lone tear streaked down his cheek. He hit Yukimura's serve right back at him.

'What in the world is going on?' thought Yukimura as the ball returned before he could react. 'Why is he crying?'

"G… Game, Echizen 4 games all," announced the referee.

'If this isn't the final door beyond Muga… then this strength…' thought Yukimura, 'then the prince… has already surpassed all limits…'

_A gun fire… Blood… so much blood, straining the dirt court… the smell of death _

"_Where…?"_

"_There was car accident and she was in it, there were no survivors…I'm sorry…"_

Ryoma threw his head up to the sky and a burst of energy came out, 'This match is dedicated to you…'

"The… The… The pinnacle of perfection!" exclaimed Sanada uncharacteristically. "No… it's something stronger…!"

Ryoma's hair flew around him like a slow wave, his eyes showed sorrow. The air around him… everyone could feel, was powerful and of authority.

'Who is this person?' thought everyone.

"Game, Echizen, five games to four," announced the referee.

Fifteen minutes later 

"Game, set, match, Echizen, six games to four," announced the referee. "Seigaku Wins!"

Ryoma looked up at the sky as it began to rain.

"_That was beautiful…"_

"Echizen/Ochibi!" all the regulars ran up to him. All of them were congratulating him and making sure if he was alright. He closed his eyes and knew that everything would work out fine somehow.

"Echizen… are you alright?" asked Oishi in a worried tone.

Ryoma opened his eyes to reveal the same arrogant and cocky brat, "Ah…"

Somehow that didn't reassure the regulars. Ryoma's stomach started to stir and Ryoma pushed his sempai-tachi away and walked towards the exit, "I think I'm going to be sick…"

"I guess I won't be getting that handshake from him anytime soon," chuckled Yukimura.

Tezuka walked up to him and held out his hand, in which Yukimura took, "You're freshman is full of surprises…"

"Indeed he is," said Tezuka.

"We've finally won the Nationals!" cheered Eiji as he jumped around and hugged his friends. The stadium erupted in cheers…

"It seems we're still… how would your freshman say it…? 'Made made…'?" said Yukimura.

"I think I'll go check on Echizen," announced Oishi, "He's taking an awfully long time and what happens if he collapse and no one's there…"

The Rikkai regulars sweat dropped as they watched Oishi rant and panic. Seigaku regulars were definitely completely different and unique.

The regulars from both teams went to the bathroom to look for the freshman. They saw a boy turn the corner but thought nothing of it. They walked in, only to find his tennis bag as well a note on top of his neatly folded uniform.

'Sempai-tachi, Gomen… I am sorry to inform you that I will no longer be playing tennis. But please keep this knowledge to yourself. If anyone asks where I am, please say that I said that didn't feel well and headed home. Do not mention to anyone about this note; not even Oyaji or Luna. Further more please avoid any contact or interacting with Oyaji (Echizen Nanjiroh) and Luna. Enclosed in this letter are pictures of them… it is best for you to avoid all contact with them. Please burn this note after you've read it… it's for the best… Sempai-tachi, being with you was enjoyable… arigatou… Ryoma'

"We need to burn this note," said Tezuka.

"I have a better idea," said Fuji as he took the note, ripped it to pieces before he took a piece into his mouth and chewed [A/N: … No comment, "None of us has a lighter…"

"Ochibi..." whispered Eiji, "What did Ochibi mean?"

"That kid that rounded the corner looked like him," said Sanada. They all rushed out to follow the boy from before; before it was too late.

The streets were crowded, even when it was raining. They caught a glimpse of the familiar hat and ran after the figure. Yukimura however bumped into someone in his rush.

"Sorry," apologized Yukimura as he hurried, not bothered to see the person he bumped into. All he saw was a rather short female wearing a rain coat and high heels; he soon caught up with the rest of the other regulars who were hot on the tail of the freshman.

The crowd thickened as peak hour drew closer. All hope was thought to be lost until a miracle happened. Their target walked into a park and sat on the bench. They rushed over to their target to reprimand him.

"Echizen… what is the meaning of this!" shouted Momo. The boy jumped and stood up, his hands in the air in surrender. He showed his dirtied face and they discovered that it was a homeless child.

"I didn't steal anything!" said the boy, "Someone gave me these clothes!"

They all sighed; it seemed that Ryoma was a step ahead of them. Oishi looked kindly at the boy, "could you tell us where he went and what he was wearing?"

"I don't know…" said the boy in worry, "the cap covered my eyes and that kid said that I needed this more that he did… he walked in the opposite direction that I was going…"

The regulars swore under their breathes; by now Ryoma would have covered a lot of ground, with a huge head start.

"Thank you," said Oishi as they all turned to leave.

"Ah… he said to tell you: 'It's in his pocket'," said the boy suddenly.

They all turned to him, "WHAT?"

"That's all he said: 'It's in his pocket'," confirmed the boy as he walked off.

**wow... sometimes i amaze myself... i really can't count... i tried to set a date so i can constantly update... like a due date... and i forgot... lol... plz review and tell me what you think! luv u all!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Secrets Kept**

**i've updated early cos i can't update this week b/c of the easter holiday... i've been doing this all at uni... since i don't have the net at home... i really wonder how my examswill turn outlol... sorry to everyone... the third chapter won't be up until near the end of next week... i can't believe how many reviews im getting! luv u all!**

**Luna plays a weird role in this story as does Nanjiroh... lol... and so i'll clear some things... and no Luna is not Ryoma's half-sister but nice try brightandsunny... i think you change your oppinion on who Luna is in this chapter... Thank you everyone for leaving a review! i love you all! i feel so loved...!**

**CHAPTER TWO**

"'It's in his pocket'?" repeated Oishi.

"We should check all out pockets," said Fuji. No one questioned the tensai and did as instructed.

"Nothing in my pocket," said Eiji.

"Nothing in mine," said Oishi.

Everyone shook their head as a negative; there was only one more person who did not say a word.

"Buchou…?" questioned Marui.

Yukimura looked up and held out a folded piece of paper, his face was surprised

'Made Made Dane… Don't bother looking for me…and act as if I've never disappeared…'

"How the hell did that shrimp…?" started Kirihara.

"We must have ran by him," said Jackal.

"How did he put it into Buchou's pocket though?" asked Kirihara.

"I knocked into someone," said Yukimura in realization, "but it wasn't him… it was a short female… wearing high heels…"

All Seigaku cursed under their breaths, "It was him…"

"Wait… that person was wearing high heels…" said Marui.

"Echizen is a natural," said Inui, as he pushed up his glasses.

"_Everyone gather round," said Tezuka, it was one of those days where only the regulars were present for practice._

"_This is a special menu to help train for angle play," announced Inui as he produced several bags and handed a bag each to each member._

_Everyone looked inside and froze in horror. Fuji opened his eyes dangerously and pulled out a thin, high heeled shoe, "What is this?"_

"_This is our training," explained Inui, as the others pulled out their shoe, "we couldn't go to the courts on the mountains on short notice so this is the next best thing…"_

"_Inui-sempai," said Ryoma, "Why is mine abnormally higher?"_

_For more emphasis, he showed the high heeled sandals that looked as if Ryoma would be standing on the tip of his toes. Eiji and Momo were close to bursting out laughing, Fuji just smiled, and Tezuka smirk and the others grinned._

"_That was the only one you're size," said Inui as light suddenly gleamed off his glasses._

"_Minna… Ten laps in those shoes," ordered Tezuka. They all sat on the benches to put their heels on, which was pretty easy since they all hand to just slip into it. Ryoma however hand to buckle his on. The older regulars stood on tried to move around, which proved to be a challenge to all of them including Tezuka and Fuji._

_They all wobbled around, and attempted to run their laps however they chose to walk wobbly instead. Tezuka and Fuji looked more adjusted however there was still the slight wobble at the ankles which looked like a promising way for a twisted one._

"_Hurry up Echizen, at this rate you'll be last!" called out Momo._

"_I'm coming," grumbled Echizen as he fastened his last sandal on and stood and jogged to catch up with the rest of the regulars._

_The others just stared as the baby of the team jogged past them like he was jogging with runners on. Fuji opened his eyes as he watched Ryoma's feet move and could help but notice how fitting the foot wear looked on the freshman. It wasn't long before the boy finished the ten laps and was sitting on the bench watching the others. In the end Kaidoh and Momo drew for last and had to drink Inui's concoction._

"_Sa… Echizen… you've worn heels before," stated Fuji._

"_Iie…" said Ryoma, "This is the first time I've touched one…"_

"You wore heels for training," stated Yukimura, while most of his team was laughing or smirking.

"It was similar to mountain training," stated Inui.

"I twisted my ankle during that match with Ochibi!" whined Eiji, "Ochibi was fast in his heels…"

"It seems that Echizen is now disguised as a female," said Fuji.

"We have to head back…" sighed Oishi, "Or parents might be worried…"

"If you see him please contact us," said Tezuka as they parted ways. Seigaku were heading to the sushi bar and Rikkai were going home on their own.

"I don't feel like celebrating," moaned Eiji.

"We have to act normal," said Oishi in a stressed tone. They all took a deep breath and walked into the sushi bar to only come face to face with a monk and a business like woman with dark hair and light brown eyes.

Eiji shivered and the others tensed, 'it's them…'

"Where's Ryoma?" asked Nanjiroh.

"He… He…" started Oishi.

"He said he didn't want to celebrate so he headed home," said Fuji smoothly.

"Why…?" asked Luna.

"His exact words were: 'Baka Oyaji wanted something'…" said Momo with a cheap imitation of Ryoma.

"We all walked him home… well, a street away though… that's why we were so late," smiled Fuji.

"Thank you," said Nanjiroh, with a perverted smile and walked out, arms around Luna.

"We… we really… we really… that… lie… oh God!" said Oishi with no coherent sentence coming out.

"It had to be done," said Fuji firmly.

Meanwhile, Yukimura was taking a taxi home. Something familiar caught his eye. 'The 'female' that bumped into me!'

"I want to get off here," he told the driver as he paid and ran out of the taxi.

He discreetly followed the 'female' in a safe distance. At the same time calling the freshman's team mates.

"Hello… I think I see him… I'm following the kid now," said Yukimura, "I'll contact you soon when I know for sure…"

Yukimura watched the way the young 'lady' walked, "Sa… if that note in the pocket didn't happen, I would have thought you were really female…"

"Amazing three hours walking on heels," said Yukimura "and you're kilometres away from the stadium."

"Eh…? The Hospital?" questioned Yukimura, as he discreetly followed Ryoma up the stairs, up to level 7. 'I guess this is how he keeps fit… not take the elevator…'

"Sensei…" greeted the 'girl', as Yukimura eavesdropped.

"Ryo-chan…" greeted the doctor, who Yukimura recognized to be female.

"Thank you for allowing me to borrow these clothes," said Ryoma.

"No problem at all…" said the doctor, "You sure you don't want to keep them? After all they don't fit me and they fit you…?"

"No way in hell," scoffed Ryoma, "this whole outfit feels foreign…"

"Of course," the woman chuckled, "You're fully dressed as a woman…"

"I heard on the radio you had a personality clash," said the woman solemnly.

"I wasn't in control, that's all you need to know," said Ryoma.

"You know you should get a balance…" sighed the woman.

"Sora-sensei… do you have clothes I can change out of… I feel overly girly in this right now…" said Ryoma. "When I dress girly, they call me handsome and when I dress as a guy they call me pretty…"

"I'm not surprised Ryo-chan…" laughed Sora. "You're lucky that you sometimes stay overnight here… there's a pile of you're clothes just waiting to be worn…"

"Can I stay over night?" asked Ryoma. 

"Just make sure you don't mess up my office," said Sora, "Are you sure you're team mates are going to be okay?"

"I've already warned them, without getting into any detail… all I can do now is hope that they heed the warning," said Ryoma.

"Awww… Ryoma is all grown up, caring for others… what next… saving the world before bed time?" teased Sora. "They don't know do they…?"

"The Echizen they know is a lie… they will only get hurt," said Ryoma with a 'who cares' tone.

"I got something that you might like," said Sora, "I found out after so many years… that he's in Kanagawa…"

"So he's still in Japan…" said Ryoma in a quiet voice, which Yukimura had to strain his ears to hear.

"I'm surprised that he hasn't contacted me…" said Sora, "I won't be surprised if he lost the contact details though…"

"Thank you Sora-sensei," said Ryoma. "How do you know each other?"

"It's the least I can do… and it's for me to know and you to find out," said Sora, "are you sure you don't want to go home with me? I'm sure my husband won't mind…"

"It's fine… I don't want to burden you and you're family," said Ryoma.

"Make sure you get some sleep… I can see the bags from that lack of sleep," said Sora as Yukimura could hear her get up, "It's time for me to head home… I'll inform some of the nurses…"

Yukimura hurriedly walked away from the door and out of the hospital and made a call to Tezuka. Who, in turn messaged the rest of the regulars who all agreed to meet outside Tokyo hospital early the next morning. 

You've reached the Echizen residence… and by receiving this message it means we're not in or too lazy to get to the phone. So please state your name and business after the beep or hang up before the beep…

Beep

"Echizen… it's us… we want to make sure you're okay… we're all planning to on a trip tomorrow for a month or so… contact us and tell us if you can make it so we can give you the details… Get well soon!"

"I guess they don't know he's missing," said Luna as she sat on Nanjiroh's lap, "Do you think he ran away?"

"Why would that kid run away?" questioned Nanjiroh. "He knows nothing…"

"Do you think they got him?" asked Luna.

"They know what would happen if they make a move before the designated time," said Nanjiroh, as he ran his hand down the woman's arm. "However there could be a few people that may lead that boy astray…"

Else where a man was about to pick up his cup of tea until the tea cup cracked, 'Nee-san…'

"I hope it doesn't make them suspicious of us," said Fuji, as they all sat on the bus and was heading towards the hospital. "We'll find out what's going on if we have to keep it from his parents…"

"My data does not give any hints of what this is all about," said Inui, which was all obvious, "However… it is interesting that Echizen refers to his mother as Luna…"

"Now that you mentioned it…" started Momo.

"I see Yukimura…!" exclaimed Eiji as they got out of the bus.

"Thank you for informing us," said Tezuka.

"It's quiet alright," smiled Yukimura. "I heard an interesting conversation yesterday…"

Yukimura gave them a very short summary on what he heard yesterday and they hurried into the hospital. They made their way to the stairs however, the receptionist called out to them.

"Excuse me… where do you think your going?" asked the lady.

"We came to see a doctor," smiled Fuji.

"By appointment or not?" asked the lady.

"We're just visiting," said Yukimura, "We came to see Sora-sensei…"

"I never knew you were close to her," said the lady as she looked suspiciously at them, "there are only ten people that call her by her given name… and I know all of them…"

They all swore under they're breathes, the receptionist then insisted they sit down as she tried to contact Heaven.

"We were definitely not prepared," sighed Momo.

"No..! When…?" asked the reception as she spoke into the phone, she as she covered her mouth and looked pale. She placed the phone back into the cradle before picking it up again, was she took a deep breath and looked determined.

"This is code Fiery hell… the gate's of heaven has fallen," said the receptionist, "That's good… you need to do a three sixty… friend and foe on tail…"

"Miss… are you alright?" asked Oishi as he looked concerned, as the woman got off the phone.

"It seems that you have to leave," said the receptionist in a crisp tone. "Mon-sensei, won't be seeing any patients or friends anymore…"

"What do you mean…?" asked Kaidoh.

The receptionist looked heatedly at them as she walked over to them, "Mon Sora won't be seeing anyone anymore…"

"We're sorry but… the truth is we're looking for our friend… Echizen… Echizen Ryoma," explained Tezuka.

"He's twelve years old but looks like he's about eight years old," said Fuji. "Has dark emerald hair and golden eyes."

"What relationship exactly are you connected with this child?" asked the receptionist giving them a cold glare.

"We're his team mates," answered Oishi, "He gave us a strange warning and we really need to look for him to make sure he's okay…"

"You're digging your own grave," said the woman as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "If Ryoma gave you a warning… you must heed it…"

"You know about the person we're talking about then…!" exclaimed Eiji.

"Hush child!" ordered the woman, "I'm Nigai Amai… Sora's best friend since childhood… you don't know what, you are all getting into… we all come from a protected society… however there are horrors outside the safe society that is better not know…"

"Is Ochibi in danger?" asked Eiji in worry.

"That is something I don't know," said Amai. "You should stay in the protected society… you will only burden those who protect you if you cross over…"

"As long as Echizen is our Kouhai, we will not back down," said Fuji as he revealed his eyes.

"**Echizen** is not you're kouhai," said Amai. 

"Even if we don't know Echizen well," started Yukimura seriously, "we care enough for us to want to protect him…"

Amai sighed, "Then I can't stop you… Ryoma is heading to Kanagawa… that's all I know…"

"Thank you…" said Momo.

Before they all left Fuji turned to the woman, "You said 'we all come from a protected society', but you know about the other side…"

"Sora was from the other side and was trying to get out of it," said Amai sadly, "However, once you're initiated into that society… there's no turning back…"

"I'm sorry for you're loss," said Fuji as he ran out with the others. Amai then allowed the tears to stream down her face…

**there you have it... the 2nd chapter... nigai amai translated to english means bitter sweet... well thats how i translated it anyways... i've figured out there will be 12 chapters and an epilogue... well im aiming for that... lol... a few new characters will be coming into story... if this chapter gets confusing just leave a message and i'll clear it up in a note on top of chapter three... lol... thanx for the reviews!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Secrets Kept**

**I don't own Prince of tennis and you should be glad that i don't b/c it wouldn't be good... **

thanks to all those who reveiwed...and to clear up somethings... Luna... is not related to RYoma in any way... well i hope not anyways... nad fior Ryoma's age... he's twelve but looks like and 8 yr old... pretty depressing for Ryoma... and for pairings... sorry... im leaning towards EijiRYo... my other story's fujiryo... ryoma talking girly is part of the story... every thing will be revealled slowly... Muahahaha... okay... i apologise in advance if my story somehow becomes weird... because soemhow it start off well and then it goes down hill... also... i'm using an old doc to submit my story as somehow the chapter won't load on... evil!! at least i updated... YAY!!

**CHAPTER THREE**

"He's missing!"

"Again…!? But he has an appointment to attend to in an hour!"

"WE have to look for him!"

"Grape Ponta… Grape Ponta…" sang the man as he pressed the button on the vending machine. Then sneezed, "I guess they finally figured I disappeared…"

"Ah… Grape Ponta!" said a voice, Ren turned to see a boy with dark emerald hair walk up to the vending machine to buy Ponta. He noted that the boy looked sun smart. He wore black pants with a grey t-shirt then a white long sleeved button shirt that he left open. He also wore sun glasses and a cap.

"Hey kid… you're pretty smart," said Ren.

The boy took off his sun glasses and turned to the speaker and revealed his golden eyes. Gold met gold…

"You're sun smart," explained Ren. Ryoma shrugged and opened his can to drink his frizzy drink and drank.

"You look strangely familiar," said Ren. "Echizen Ryoma… you're that tennis player who defeated Seiichi-kun yesterday…"

"You know Yukimura-sempai?" asked Ryoma with a frown.

"Maybe…" winked Ren. "What's a kid like you doing so far away from home?"

"I'm looking for someone," said Ryoma.

"It's not Seiichi-kun is it?" asked Ren.

"Iie… not tennis based," said Ryoma and wondered why he even bothered answering a stranger.

"I really wanted to see you're tennis…" sighed Ren, the grabbed Ryoma's arm, "Let's go to the street courts… I know some tennis for some reason but I don't recall learning it…"

"For a person who looks like eighteen you sure have the potency of a thirty year old," muttered Ryoma.

Ren smiled kindly at Ryoma, "Close… I'm mid thirties… and you look like an eight year old but you sure seem to know big words…"

Ryoma rolled his eyes, "I'm twelve…"

"I guess we both look younger than we really are," smiled Ren.

"Oi… kid… give us all you're money," said a man as he and two others walked from out of an alley and surrounded them.

"Do you have any money?" asked Ryoma to Ren.

"Nope… I left my wallet at home and I only brought enough for Ponta…" shrugged Ren. "Sorry we don't have money to give to you…"

The thug pulled out a gun and pointed it to Ryoma, "Don't F# with us… give us your money or you'll pay with your brother's life…"

"Brother…?" questioned Ren and Ryoma at the same time as they looked at each other.

He then turned the gun on Ren who looked pretty calm about everything. Ren looked at then man and smirked, "I don't have any money on me…"

_He could see the shimmer of the gun as it was pulled out of a pocket. There was a click as the shooter prepared to fire._

"_I'll never let you have him… I saw you with her… he'll know the truth," the woman spat._

"_By the time he finds out the truth, it'll all be too late," chuckled the shooter, "It's quiet admirable… you die fighting… also getting involved in a car accident…"_

"_Good bye…"_

_BANGBANGBANG _

Everything seemed to be in slow motion for Ryoma. There was a click as the thug pointed at Ren.

BANG

The gun was kicked out of the thugs hand but not before a bullet was fired. Ren took the opportunity to jump the man and knock him out and proceeded to attack the other two.

"Echizen-san…are you alright?" asked Ren.

"Ryoma," replied Ryoma, as he stared at the gun on the ground.

"Huh…?"

"Call me Ryoma, I don't like the name Echizen…" said Ryoma.

"Ne… Ryoma-kun, are you hurt?" asked Ren as he walked up to the boy.

Ryoma blinked, "Nothing's in pain…"

Ren snorted and took Ryoma's arm, "Nothing I pain huh? You took a shot in the arm…"

"I'm fine," said Ryoma as he winced when Ren inspected the arm.

"Fine…?" laughed Ren, "you're almost as stubborn as me…"

"Ren-sama!"

"Busted…" said Ren. Several men in suits came running up to him.

"Are you alright? You should never go out by yourself… it's dangerous!" lectured a man.

"Ray… I'm fine, this child helped me out," said Ren as he gestured to Ryoma.

"Echizen Ryoma," said Ray as he recognized the boy, "Quiet famous… I never knew you were eight…"

"I'm twelve…" muttered Ryoma, this caused Ren to laugh.

"Sir… you have an appointment in twenty minutes," said Ray.

"I guess we can go to the hospital and at the same time I can go to my appointment…" said Ren cheerily.

Hospital

"Ryoma-kun… stay here and be nice to the nurse… I'll be back in twenty minutes," said Ren.

"Oi… why do I have to stay here?" called back Ryoma.

"I'm taking you home with me," said Ren. "Just to make sure you don't sneak off, Ray will stay with you…"

"I/He will…?" asked Ryoma and Ray at the same time, by then Ren had already left.

"Why are you so far away from home?" asked Ray, after a long awkward silence.

"I'm looking for someone," said Ryoma shortly.

"You have to be more specific sir, someone could be anyone," said Ray.

"The last link to Okaa-san," said Ryoma, as he looked out the window with distant eyes.

"You're looking for your mother?" asked Ray.

"No… Her first love…" said Ryoma as he looked back at Ray, "I'm hoping he can explain everything… the gaps that I'm missing about Okaa-san's life…"

"Why don't you ask you're father?" asked Ray. There was silence as Ryoma looked out at the window once more.

"He doesn't care about Okaa-san," snorted Ryoma after a while, "The Echizen family is only built on the foundation of lies… My life is a lie…"

"How can you be a lie?" asked Ray. "You're right here… alive and well…"

"You don't understand… No one knows the real Ryoma," said Ryoma as he looked into Ray's brown eyes and showed pain, "The people who do aren't here to help me…"

"Then allow us to help you…"

"I've got a doctors appointment, Takeuchi-sensei will kill me if I cancel again," announced Yukimura.

"Takeuchi…? You mean the guy who's richer than Atobe?" asked Momo.

"He's the world's best doctor," said Oishi. "But I never knew he was here in Japan…"

"I want his autograph!" said Eiji as he jumped around.

"I'm surprised that his not surrounded by reporters," said Inui.

"He had a court order issued," said Yukimura, as they entered the hospital. "Then again I don't know how he really looks since he always wears that mask…"

"Oh… he's mysterious," giggled Fuji.

"I don't think he wants to be a paedophile," said Yukimura with a sweat drop.

"Also… you don't know if he swings that way," said Momo.

"What was that?" asked Fuji.

"Nothing," replied Momo.

"Sorry, I'm late sensei…" said Yukimura as he walked into the office.

"No worries… You're friends were entertaining me…" said Takeuchi, as he motioned to Yukimura's team mates.

"Ah… it's Seigaku," said Kirihara, as he pointed out the obvious.

"It seems that you have plenty of moral support today Seiichi-kun," chuckled the man behind the medical mask. He's eyes were closed and everyone could tell he was smiling. He took out a pair of glasses and out them on before he took out a folder and read. "How are you feeling today…?"

"More active than usual," answered Yukimura, and then suddenly blushed. "I didn't mean that… what I meant was…"

Takeuchi chuckled, "And you say I say the strangest things… okay… lie down and we'll continue with you're check up…"

Ten minutes later, Yukimura was asked to mediate for five minutes. The room was in complete silence. The only thing that could be heard was the doctor humming a nursery rhyme.

The next thing everyone bolted up when a chicken timer rung. Takeuchi stopped the alarm and grinned, "Home time!!"

"How old is he again?" whispered Kirihara.

"Seiichi-kun… I think you've fully recovered… and I think you've become stronger than ever before…"

"That's good," said Marui.

"Time for me to go home," cheered Takeuchi, as he practically skipped out.

"I don't think his that much older than us… Nyah," said Eiji.

Ray and Ryoma turned towards the door and were face to face with Ren who had a kind smile on his face.

"Allow us to help you," repeated Ren, as he walked up to Ryoma and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I agree," said Ray, "A child such as yourself needs an adult to be nearby… if you can't trust your own parents then who else is there…?"

"How do you know I can trust you?" asked Ryoma as he frowned.

"You already poured most of the story to us," said Ren, "and you have my support…"

"I really don't think I should burden…" started Ryoma. "Also you might be in danger…"

Ray snorted, "Burden…? Ren-sama would be jumping for joy because he now has someone to talk to…"

"Ray…" said Ren as if he was offended, "I wouldn't say jumping for joy… I would say… delighted… as for danger… I laugh in it's face… Ha, ha, ha…"

"If you're sure it's alright," said Ryoma.

"Excellent," said Ren with a clap of his hands, "Did the stitches hurt?"

"Stitches…? What stitches?" asked Ryoma.

"You have nerve of steal," chuckled Ren as he put an arm around the boys shoulder and guided him out, while Ray walked behind them.

"Now tell me… what type of danger would I be in?" asked Ren.

"Any news about Echizen?" asked Sanada.

"All we know is that he's in Kanagawa," said Yukimura.

"Kanagawa is a big place," pointed out Momo.

"What would he be doing here though?" asked Marui.

"I heard he was looking for someone," confessed Yukimura, "By going after Echizen… we're risking our lives… if anyone is uncomfortable about this you can back out now…"

They all looked at each other; there was no one backing out now. They all walked of the elevator and headed to the exit. Oishi looked back at the hospital one last time before he turned back to the others.

"What is it Oishi?" asked Fuji.

"I feel like we just missed him," said Oishi with a frown.

"It's probably your 'motherly' instincts kicking in again," said Momo.

"Shouldn't he follow it then?" said Kaidoh.

"Are you calling me stupid?" asked Momo and so they argued.

As they walked away from the hospital, Ren, Ryoma and Ray walked out of the hospital and headed for the car that was waiting for them.

**there we go... two OC... the regulars just missed seeing Ryoma... i apologise again if my story starts to go weird... love you heaps!!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Secrets Kept**

Sorry if it's all jumpy... i really need to learn how to stick with one scene... i did put breaks in my story... but somehow they all disappeared when i posted them... sSORRY!! lol... yay!! i'm glad someone got the plot... now you can help me understand what it is... lol... sorry if my spelling is stuffed... the comp i was using was on auto correct mode and i guess they thought i wanted steal... lol... this story is slowly becoming strange... ha ha ha... sorry if some people begin to think: 'what the...?' while their reading... as for Rikkai helping Seigaku... i thought since it's in kanagawa region lets place Rikkai rather than Hyoutei... i'm depressed that the prince of tennis manga finished... wonder if there's a sequal... right now i've got a headache cos i have all this random ideas swarming in my head... must get it out of my system... lol thanks to all the reviews!! i luv u all!! hugs and kisses all round!!

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"What do you think Ray?" asked Ren.

"He needs protection," said Ray, "I can sense that there are things that he has not yet told us… but I believe that he does trust us and everything so far is the truth… he's however avoiding all talk on why he is looking for his mother's first love and his mother…"

Ren smiled, "that's what I thought… he reminds me of someone… but I just can figure out whom…"

Ren then looked at the boy sleeping in his arms, "Don't worry Ryoma-kun… we'll be here for you…"

Ray looked at the sleeping boy and somehow an image of another flashed through his eyes, "Ray, are you alright?"

"I'm fine Ren-sama… I think I was just hallucinating…"

"It comes to show you're only human, ne… Ray?" grinned Ren.

"Are you sure it's not the brink of insanity, sir?" asked Ray.

Ren just laughed, "Aren't we all at the brink? It's just some of us deal with it better than others…"

"We've arrived sir," said Ray as he held out the door and lead them to Ren's… mansion. Ren carried the sleeping boy in his arms out of his car and up to his 'house', "Sir, I could carry him for you…"

"Nonsense…! He's not heavy at all… in fact he feels abnormally light for eight year old body…" said Ren with a frown.

"Then he's lucky that he's under your care," said Ray.

**thishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappear**

"Is everything in position?" asked the man in the shadows.

"He won't know what hit him," answered another, "His luck has run out this time and no one will be there to save him…"

The man smiled a sinister smile, "Excellent… we'll finally get him… he's crossed us for the last time…"

**thishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappear**

"Ochibi could be anywhere!?" wailed Eiji.

"Why are you peasants blocking ore-sama's way?" Everyone turned to come face to face with Atobe.

"Atobe… What are you doing all the way in Kanagawa?" asked Yukimura.

"I have a house here and decided to have a holiday… be awed by my…" started Atobe.

"Yeah… yeah… we don't have time to waste time with you," said Momo in an irritable tone.

"You should be grateful that ore-sama allowed himself to talk to you," huffed Atobe. "However I am curious where that brat is… is he at a vending machine again?"

"We're actually here looking for him," smiled Fuji.

"You lost you're brat on your outing?" asked Atobe.

"Actually… we've followed him here," said Oishi.

"Ore-sama demands to know what is going on," demanded Atobe. Everyone shared a glance and decided to give him the load down on the situation. "After much consideration… ore-sama will aid you in you're quest… be awed by my generosity…"

"I think he's just doing this because Tezuka is here," whispered Marui to Eiji who nodded in agreement. Lucky for them no on heard, because they would be in for laps for sure.

"I am inviting you all to stay at my wonderful estate," said Atobe.

**thishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappear**

"Shall I wake Ryoma?" asked Ray.

"No I will," said Ren as he got up from his study and took of his glasses. He made his way up the marble stairs and down the hall way to a closed door. He carefully opened the door not to startle the sleeping occupant. However, he did not expect the occupant to be already awake and by the window looking out at the winter sky.

"Ryoma…" started Ren, he watched as Ryoma's unfocused eyes begin to focus and he watched as the child's head turn and look over to him blankly. "It's time for dinner…"

"Ah…" was Ryoma's only answered as he looked down at himself as if to say 'I'm only wearing a big shirt though…'

"You're things are in the closet…" said Ray, then turned to leave, "I'll wait outside for you…"

Ren and Ray watched as their guest was idly shifting his food around his plate "Is there something wrong with the food, Ryoma-sama?"

"Huh…? Oh… no…" replied Ryoma. "I'm actually not hungry…"

"You're pretty light for someone of you're stature…" commented Ren.

"When you said that no one know the real you… is this, what you mean?" asked Ren.

"That's sort of the reason," said Ryoma in a low mumble.

"You said a few people know…" said Ren.

"Okaa-san of course knew, Sora-sensei…" started Ryoma.

"Mon Sora…? How is my dear big sister?" asked Ren. "I would ask her myself, however I lost her contact details…"

"Sora-sensei is your sister?" asked Ryoma in surprise.

"She is… but I'm worried about her welfare when my favourite tea cup broke recently," explained Ren.

"She…" started Ryoma as he looked at his plate, he knew he had to say what happened; he owed him an explanation at least.

"I see… how?" asked Ren solemnly.

"I don't know the details," said Ryoma, "it was labelled Code Fiery Hell."

"What does that mean Ryoma-sama," asked Ray.

"It's when all hell breaks loose," said Ryoma.

"But that does not explain, how you know that she's gone," frowned Ren.

"'The gate's of heaven has fallen'," said Ryoma, "Mon Sora can be referred to the gates of heaven…"

"I'm grateful you told me…" smiled Ren sadly.

"I'm sorry," apologized Ryoma.

"Was she a good doctor?" asked Ren.

"She was… I wouldn't let anyone else treat me," said Ryoma with a distant look, "She was the only one beside Okaa-san that I could talk to and was in reach…"

"But… now…" Ryoma's voice started to crack, "the last person that knows about me can't be involved…"

"Can't be involved?" asked Ray.

"She's in America…" said Ryoma. "I can't… I can't rely on anyone… all those who know the actual me… they… they just…"

Ren left his seat and encased Ryoma in a hug, "we're here… and I assure you that we'll always be here…"

"I can vouch for that," said Ray.

"Thank you," mumbled Ryoma softly.

"Now why don't you start eating," chuckled Ren, however he frowned when Ryoma made a face, "What's wrong?"

"Thinking about food makes me feel sick," replied Ryoma as he paled.

"Then what about that can of Ponta you drank?" asked Ren.

"I can take in liquids," said Ryoma, "But lately… when I eat… I just end up emptying my stomach…"

"Ray… do you think you can make soup?" asked Ren.

"Right away sir," said Ray as he hurried out.

"Do you have any cravings?" asked Ren.

Ryoma shook his head, and snapped his head towards Ren, "I'm not pregnant!!"

"Just making sure," chuckled Ren, and then lifted Ryoma up, "Now let's get you in bed and you're not going any where until you at least have the strength to eat normal food…"

"Oi… I can walk," protested Ryoma.

Ren laughed, "But I like babying you… if no one comes to claim you, I would considering adopting you…"

"You make it sound like I'm a lost kitten…" growled Ryoma.

Ren tilted his head to the side and smiled, "You've met Rin?"

"Rin…?" questioned Ryoma.

"My kitten," smiled Ren.

"Mmm…" mumbled Ryoma as he slowly drifted to sleep.

"If this is what raising a child feels like… I'll happily raise this one," said Ren, as Ryoma snuggled further in his arms.

**thishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappear**

"I wonder if Echizen has a roof over his head?" thought Oishi out load, "What happens if he's living in a cardboard box… surrounded by strangers?!"

"I'm sure he's fine…" said Fuji, "Nee-san said that he's reading says that he's taken care of and in good hands… but she can't say anything else because it doesn't make sense to her…"

"Then that's good then," sighed Oishi in relief.

"How could this have happened? Ochibi… he's hurt…" said Eiji with a whimper, "I'm a bad sempai… I should have known he was troubled…"

"We all should have known," said Oishi as he embraced his doubles partner.

"So he was acting strangely recently?" asked Renji.

"Iie… he's been acting strangely for the past few months…" corrected Inui.

"And you didn't confront him?" asked Yukimura in surprise.

"We did…" mumbled Kaidoh.

"But he's tight lipped," said Momo.

"If he was in Rikkai, we would have found out," said Kirihara.

"I doubt it," said Tezuka, "don't down play his stubbornness…"

"But if we beat it out of him…" started Kirihara.

"That still won't work," said Fuji seriously, "he agreed to run 1000 laps rather than tell us anything…"

"1000 laps!?" exclaimed Rikkai and Atobe.

"Are you crazy?" asked Marui.

"No wonder he won against Buchou," muttered Niou.

"These laps were broken up for separate occasions, right?" asked Jackal.

"As I was saying, Echizen is stubborn," said Fuji. "Even when we said he didn't need to run the laps after 200, he continued running… for three days straight without a break…"

"Three days without food?" asked Yagyuu.

"He'd jog to the vending machine for Ponta," said Momo, "but refused to rest until he completed the laps… lucky it was during training camp or else this parents would be asking where he was…"

"_Echizen… tell us what's wrong?"_

"_How many laps do you want me to run?"_

"So we didn't push him for an explanation," ended Oishi.

"Do you think he was forced to play tennis?" asked Marui.

"I don't think he was forced," said Tezuka.

"_It's for my own reasons… no one else's," smirked Ryoma._

"Damn this is confusing," cursed Momo.

"We can only hope for the best," smiled Yukimura reassuringly.

"If what you say is true, then there is no doubt that he will be alright," said Sanada.

"Please let Ochibi be alright," whispered Eiji. "I promise I won't air deprive him when I see him…"

"We'll cover more ground if we slit up," announced Inui; everyone made a move to go outside, "It would be wiser if we started the search in our teams tomorrow… that way we have enough stamina and strength…"

Everyone looked hesitant to consider sleeping; however Renji backed Inui up, "our success of finding Echizen will increase by 5..."

**thishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappearthishastoappear**

Ren looked up from his book, to see Ryoma standing by the door; he took off his glasses and placed it by his bed stand, "Is there something wrong Ryo-chan?"

"Could is stay with you?" asked Ryoma in hesitation.

"Are you scared?" asked Ren as he patted to the vacant space next to him.

Ryoma crawled into bed next to him and turned his back and murmured, "Sleep seems to be more peaceful when you're near…"

Ren looked at the now sleeping child next to him and ran his hand through the child's hair, "We'll protect you…"

**awww... if i didn't know any better i would say those two were going to end up together... lol... anyone want to take a whack at who ren and ray are? sorry if there are random errors somewhere...thanks for reading!! luv u all!! hopefully there are breaks b/w scenes now... sorry for any inconvinences...**


	6. Chapter 5

**Secrets Kept**

**Yay another update!!i'm on a roll... down hill... lol kk... secrets start revealing here!! thanks for all the reviews!! i luv u all!!**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"My… My… everyone's up early," chuckled Atobe as he walked down the stairs.

"The earlier we wake up, the earlier we can start search for Ochibi," announced Eiji with a slight bounce.

"We'll all split into pairs, that way we'll cover more ground," said Inui.

"I'll go by myself, since it's an odd number!" announced Eiji as he jumped and ran out the door.

"He didn't even wait for breakfast," said Oishi.

"He's just worried for his self dubbed Ochibi," said Fuji as he placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"Let's eat breakfast!" cheered Momo.

"You always think of your stomach," said Kaidoh.

"You want to fight about this too?" asked Momo as he raised his voice.

"Make sure we don't team those two with each other," said Sanada to Tezuka.

"We have no intentions to put those two together," confirmed Tezuka.

**thisisheretodividescenesifyoucanreadthisthatmeansiloveyouthisisheretodividescenesifyoucanreadthisthatmeansiloveyou**

"Ren-sama… it's time to get up," said Ray as he entered his master's bedroom. He however wasn't surprised as he heard two groans. He after all gave the directions to their guest on how to get to the room

"It's time to get up sir," tried Ray again, he however did not expect to be faced with not one but two pillows flying to his face.

"It's too early," the two sleepers groaned.

"Ryoma-sama… you don't have to get up, it's only Ren-sama…" said Ray.

"That's nice…" murmured Ryoma sleepily, while Ren groaned.

"You have work sir," reasoned Ren.

"Whoever's idea it was to make work so early in the morning should be dragged out onto the street and shot," growled Ren, as he rolled out of bed.

Ren stumbled into the bathroom and took a shower; apparently it was either too cold or too hot because Ryoma bolted up when he hear the scream that he emitted.

"How are you feeling Ryoma-sama?" asked Ray.

"I've had worse days," said Ryoma as he rubbed his eyes, "can you drop the honorific, Ray-san? It doesn't sound right…"

"Of course," said Ray with a slight boy.

**thisisheretodividescenesifyoucanreadthisthatmeansiloveyouthisisheretodividescenesifyoucanreadthisthatmeansiloveyou**

"Nyah…!! I think I'm lost!" exclaimed Eiji, "and I forgot to get breakfast!"

"No!" Eiji shook his head, "I can't think of food now! I must find Ochibi! But I'm hungry…"

There was a chuckle behind him, and he turned to come face to face with a light green haired person, who was none other than Ren, "You're a very amusing person…"

"Nyah…! Excuse me have you seen a boy… this tall… big golden eyes… shiny emerald hair…" rushed Eiji as he moved his hands about interpretively.

"You're quite amusing," chuckled Ren, "I'll shout you breakfast and you can tell me all about this boy you're searching…"

Eiji eyed him suspiciously, and Ren put his hand up in defence, "I'm a respectable guy… I don't kidnap or steal… or do anything illegal… I just want to hear your story and feed you…"

"Really…?" bounced Eiji happily, "Lead the way…"

"So tell me of this boy you've been looking for…" said Ren.

"Ochibi… he's really adorable… he looks arrogant and cocky at times, but he's thoughtful!" said Eiji.

Ren laughed, "I really can't see that… Ochibi… such a cute name…"

"Nyah…! I named him!" announced Eiji proudly.

"Why are you so desperate to find this child?" asked Ren as he drank some coffee.

"He ran away," said Eiji sadly A/N: doesn't this sound like a pet ran away rather than Ryoma?, "We need to know what's wrong… as his Sempai we have the obligation to look out for him and help…"

"We…?" asked Ren.

"The other sempai-tachi," announced Eiji as he ate his beacon and egg roll.

"Ah…" nodded Ren and smiled, "I'm sure his just fine… probably being taken good care of… taking his meds, and having lots of rest…"

"But… but Ochibi hasn't been sleeping!" cried Eiji.

Ren eyes focused on Eiji with seriousness, "He hasn't been sleeping? Does he have insomnia… how long has he been like this?"

"Months… Ochibi doesn't tell us anything," whispered Eiji as he tears up, "we noticed but couldn't do anything about it… does that make us bad sempais?"

"No…" said Ren as he shook his head, "You noticed the changes… that comes to show you care for him…"

"Usually he would sleep and we have to wake him up, he looks so cute and cuddly. But lately he just stays by the window and stares at the sky," said Eiji, "even during lunch break…"

"He skips eating?" asked Ren.

"I'm not sure Nyah… when we ask about his lunch, he just says he ate it already," said Eiji, "and what's stranger he turns down going to get burgers! I even offered to pay! He could have eaten until I had a hole in my wallet, but he didn't…"

"There must have been something that happened that caused this," consoled Ren.

"Kurapin died," said Eiji, and then continued when he saw the look of confusion on the other's face, "his cat… but that only caused him to be quieter…"

"I'm sure he's fine," smiled Ren, Eiji could help but smile back, "I better get going before I become late for work… Don't worry Kikumaru-san I'll keep an eye out for the child…" A/N: take not that that has a double meaning

"Thank you… err…"

"Just call me Ren," smiled Ren.

"Thank you for treating me to food and listening to me…" bowed Eiji.

"You're welcome… after all we all are looking out for someone's best interest," winked Ren.

"EH?" Eiji watched in confusion as Ren left.

Then something else hit Eiji, "I forgot to ask for directions!"

"I'm sure Ochibi will be fine if people like Ren are around," smiled Eiji, "Isn't Ren supposed to heading to school? I never knew there was a school that wore a suit as a school uniform…"

**thisisheretodividescenesifyoucanreadthisthatmeansiloveyouthisisheretodividescenesifyoucanreadthisthatmeansiloveyou**

"Are you alright, Ryoma?" asked Ray, "You've been sneezing a lot."

"Someone's talking about me," said Ryoma with a growl, "I'm not sure if it's a good thing or bad thing…"

Something started to wriggle under the blanket and out popped a small tabby cat, "Eh…? You must be Rin!"

Ryoma picked up the orange tabby and brought it close to his face, "Your cute… ne?"

Rin licked Ryoma's nose, "Meow…"

Ryoma cuddled the kitten and leaned back into the bed, "I'm bored…"

"You have to rest," pointed out Ray.

"Mmm…"

**thisisheretodividescenesifyoucanreadthisthatmeansiloveyouthisisheretodividescenesifyoucanreadthisthatmeansiloveyou**

"Did anyone make any progress?" asked Tezuka, as the groups regrouped.

"Iie…" chorused the rest of the regulars.

"Nyah…! Sorry I'm late," jogged Eiji.

"I'm surprised you didn't get lost," said Momo.

"Have you eaten?" asked Oishi. "You left without breakfast…"

"Yep…! Ren-san bought me breakfast," said Eiji.

"A stranger bought you breakfast?" asked Inui.

"He wanted to know about Ochibi and in return bought breakfast… he said that he'll keep and eye out for Ochibi," announced Eiji.

"Err… you did give him a contact number to contact us if he see Echizen right?" asked Momo.

"Nyah…! I forgot!" sulked Eiji.

"That man seemed very interested in Echizen," said Fuji.

"He wanted to know why Ochibi ran away and if he was eating and sleeping right," said Eiji.

"Strange," said Yukimura.

"Could he be also looking for Echizen?" thought Marui.

"Who knows… but we must be more careful on who we tell about Echizen," said Renji.

"Let's continue the search after lunch," said Atobe.

**thisisheretodividescenesifyoucanreadthisthatmeansiloveyouthisisheretodividescenesifyoucanreadthisthatmeansiloveyou**

"How's the child doing?" asked Ren as he took off his coat.

"Ryoma met Rin," said Ray.

"Oh…? How did that go?" asked Ren.

"Ryoma is smitten over her," smiled Ray.

"I have to talk to the child and clear up some things that's been bothering me this morning," said Ren as he walked up the stairs.

"Of course…"

Ren walked into his room to find Ryoma by the window looking up at the sky, while scratching Rin behind her ears.

"Ryoma…" started Ren, he watched as the child slowly turned his head.

"Ah… welcome back," said Ryoma.

Ren walked over to Ryoma, "I had an interesting conversation with someone this morning, and I believe it was a sempai, Kikumaru…"

"Ah…" was all Ryoma said as he looked out the window.

"When was the last time you slept?" asked Ren.

"Last night," said Ryoma.

"Before that… before last night…?" asked Ren.

"I don't remember…" whispered Ryoma.

"What about eating?" asked Ren.

"I don't know… I just lose my appetite…" whispered Ryoma.

"Why…?" asked Ren. He was met this silence, "Please… I have to know, so I can help you…"

"Okaa-san and Oyaji…" said Ryoma, as he continued to look up at the sky, tears streaming down his cheek. Ren placed a reassuring hand on Ryoma's leg, as if to say to continue, "The Echizen family tree revolves around a syndicate… each male was famous… even though they are at the top of the ladder… it's the boy that's involved… they rent out their sons to be drug mules… no one would know since the boy would be famous… there were not female born Echizen…"

"Okaa-san… Okaa-san was against it, I heard them arguing about it," whispered Ryoma as he brought his knee up to his chest, at the same time cuddling Rin. "I wasn't supposed to be there… but Buchou ordered us to rest early for the tournament the next day…"

Ryoma closed his eyes, "There was gun fire, Okaa-san was just there… in a pool of her blood, on the backyard tennis court… she… she didn't have any weapons on her… she was defenceless… but he… he shot her several times… as if… as if… he wanted to kill her again after she's dead… what was more heartless… he found another woman a week later!"

"I'm sorry," said Ren as he brought Ryoma into a hug, the tabby jumped out of Ryoma's arms before she was crushed, but stayed near by "Thank you for telling me…"

"Everything I did was Okaa-san, "cried Ryoma, "Why did she have to leave me…?!"

"She wanted to protect you," soothed Ren. "She wanted to protect you identity… you're life… your smile…"

"Oyaji…never knew…" whispered Ryoma, "There were times I thought he found us out… that we were lying to him…"

"I'm surprised he hasn't noticed all those hair pins in your hair," said Ren as he rocked the child in his arms back and forth. "You can be yourself from now on…"

"Now let's see the more natural you," said Ren cheerily as he removed hair pin after hair pin out of Ryoma's hair, he watched as long dark emerald hair cascaded down, "You're a cute girl… so don't hide it…"

Ryoma fingered her hair self consciously, "So I'm officially declared as a female?"

"You were born a female, it's only Sora-nee-san forged your birth as a male…" chuckled Ren. He brought Ryoma into another hug, "You're just too cute for words… you're welcome in my room anytime…"

"Thank you," whispered Ryoma as she clenched his shirt, closed her eyes and allowed tears to tickle down.

**Eiji goes looking for ochibi on his own and meets ren... is ren a good guy or bad guy...? lol... and there you have it some of the secrets that ryoma has hidden... but wait... there's more!! more secrets!! maybe one or two more... you can maybe guess what they are... thanks for reading...i know that the hairpins are a bit dodgy... but hey i didn't want to use a wig, i thought of something different... not very believeable but different**


	7. Chapter 6

**Secrets Kept**

**Okay... another chapter up!! yay!! celebrate...! we find out something about Ren as well... more like something that ryoma and him have in common... i think... ?? thanks for all the reviews!! never had so much in my life!!**

**CHAPTER SIX**

One week had passed, and the regulars had not received any information on their freshman.

"Not one sign of him," sighed Jackal, "It's like finding a needle in a hay stack…"

"I hope Echizen is somewhere warm," said Oishi.

"You should stop worrying," said Kirihara.

"Are you sure you're warm enough?" asked the eighteen year old in front of them to the eight year old. Both of them were dressed warmly, they each wore a beanie, sunglasses, gloves and coat.

"I'm fine," insisted the other, however the older man took off his coat and placed in on the younger one. "Aren't you going to be cold?"

"You need it more than me," smiled the older one.

The younger one just shrugged off the coat and placed it back around the older man before wrapping part of the coat around himself, "we can share the coat ne…?"

The older one brought the younger one closer to him and laughed.

"Nyah…! Those two look so cute!," said Eiji.

"It looks like brothers going out on a date," chuckled Fuji.

"Food…?" asked the older boy.

"Food…" confirmed the other.

"Food is a good idea," said Momo. They didn't know that the person they were looking for was right in front of their nose.

**LINEBREAKINGGLASSBREAKINGTAKINGABREAKISALSOCONSIDEREDBREAKINGBREAKINGUPISBREAKINGTOO**

While Ryoma sat on one of the tables outside minding a spot for Ren, Ren was inside the burger stall ordering. Near by coincidently the regulars were at a near by table more like tables. Everyone just stared at Ren when he brought out their order… a mountain of burgers.

"You have enough there?" asked Ryoma.

"I could order more," said Ren.

"I was being sarcastic," sighed Ryoma, which caused Ren to chuckle.

"Come on… we have much to do!" cheered Ren.

"And so little time to do it," said Ren and Ryoma in unison.

"You're catching on fast," laughed Ren.

"Itatakimasu…" chorused the two before digging into their burgers.

"Ne…" said Ryoma said as she looked up from her second burger, "Why aren't you married yet?"

This caught the interest of the regulars near by and attempted to listen in.

"You might laugh at me when you hear this," laughed Ren. "I don't recall much of my life… the last thirteen years I've just been rebuilding my life and trying to recollect the very portions of my memory…"

"What happened?" asked Ryoma with a frown.

"I'm not exactly sure… Ray said that I was on my way to meet someone, but when I didn't arrive home, he searched for me. He said he found me washed up on shore at the beach… memory lost," sighed Ren. "There were some women who I tried dating, but that didn't work…"

Ryoma waited for him to continue, "It's strange… I'm not sure if this was part of my memory… but I keep having a dream of this beautiful woman… we would go out on small dates and cause mischief… the night before Christmas I would usually dream of her with me together in bed… our bodies intertwined… her body pressed up against mine… her…"

Ryoma knew he was off reminiscing and speaking while he did so, as he talked Ryoma started to turn red, and coughed. This caused Ren to snap back to attention, "Sorry… I didn't realise I was telling you about it in detail…"

"As long as you don't do that again and I don't regurgitate my food, it's fine," said Ryoma.

Ren sighed, "I guess it's because of that woman that I've been unable to marry… Rin, I know that's not her full name… sometimes I wonder if she's really from my past or my figment of my dreams… "

"There was also a time with the two of us discussing possible baby names, we decide whether it was a boy and girl we would name our child…"

Ren looked back to Ryoma with a smile however he stopped smiling when he saw Ryoma crying. "What's wrong…?"

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"Can you hear what he's saying?" asked Momo.

"Shush! I'm trying to listen," muttered Marui.

"It's bad to eavesdrop," whispered Oishi, however he was also trying to listen.

"I wonder if he's not married because he likes his brother?" wondered Fuji.

"He must be saying something really embarrassing," said Jackal and they watched the younger figure turn red.

"I wonder what he said," wondered Yukimura.

"Sa… I wonder too," said Fuji.

"What's wrong?" everyone turned their attention back to the 'couple'. They could see that the younger figure was crying. The older figure was seen trying to coax the other to telling him what's wrong, "Are you feeling sick…? Is it something I said?"

They watched as Ren kneeled in front of Ryoma, still unaware of their identity. They watched in surprise as Ryoma threw her arms around Ren, which also surprised Ren himself. The regulars watch as Ren held the small figure in his arm for a moment. They concluded that the younger one had said something, because Ren pulled back and looked at Ryoma, before bringing the girl into a tight hug.

"You've made me the happiest person!" cheered Ren.

"You think the kid just admitted his love to the older guy?" asked Eiji.

"Iie data… incest…" muttered Inui.

**LINEBREAKINGGLASSBREAKINGTAKINGABREAKISALSOCONSIDEREDBREAKINGBREAKINGUPISBREAKINGTOO**

The romantic moment was short lived when they both pushed each other away and kicked the table as a shield while a barrage of bullets poured down. Shortly after a group of fifteen men appeared belt and sashes filled with ammo and weapons, their clothing was gang like and mostly dark.

"It's time for you to die and stay dead," announced the man who seemed to be the leader of the gang.

"You still haven't given me a reason why I have to die," said Ren from behind his table shield. "I don't even know what I did to make you kill me…"

"You're existence is more than a good enough reason for you to be dead," laughed the man.

"But isn't it unfair for me to be unarmed with no men, while you have tones of weapons and with fourteen men?" inquired Ren.

"All is fair in love and war," laughed the man, and he made a gesture that everyone assumed meant to move in, as the fourteen men moved in. only to be attacked by the two behind the table as if they anticipated this.

The regulars watched from the floor as the two moved around with practised ease around the men. Occasionally they winced as the younger figure twisted the men's necks and caused them to snap. However they could tell the older one was giving the men a more painful death as he somehow he got his hand on a knife and a gun. While his right hand slit their throats the other was holding the gun casually. What the regulars did not understand was that the people around them were going about their business, not even the children seemed to care. They wondered if they knew it was a movie, or that they couldn't see it or that it was like it was an everyday thing.

"What's wrong with you people?!" shouted the leader, "it's only two people; one that's older than all of you and another that's younger than you!? We did not prepare two weeks to fail in a flash!"

"Two weeks...? Is that all? Then maybe you should have planned a month in advance," chuckled Ryoma.

Soon Ren and leader were exchanging blows, before they jumped away from each other and aimed their guns at each other in a showdown. The leader however did not anticipate the cold blade of a knife touch his neck. He had forgotten about the other person who was also with Ren.

"I think it's checkmate," smiled Ren.

"No… it's check," said another person and Ren would see a figure behind Ryoma and pointed the gun at her head.

The leader smirked, "Are you willing to allow this little boy die because of you?"

"Hey," said Ryoma as she got the attention of everyone, "How fast can you shoot me and protect your leader as well as your testosterone making function?"

Ryoma turned her head slightly and looked at the tall man behind her with a sweet smile, the man looked down and saw there was already a gun pointed at his family jewel. The regulars could see that her left hand held the knife and while her left crossed under her other hand and held the gun.

"You don't have the guts kid," said the bulky man. "I doubt you can even use a gun…before you can even pull the trigger, you'd be dead…"

"Then watch very carefully," chuckled Ryoma, "Because I'm only doing this once…"

There was a gun shot followed by an explosion above them, which startled everyone… well almost everyone. Everyone wondered what the hell caused the explosion.

"Did you get that?" asked Ryoma.

"Huh?" the man didn't compute with what she said.

"The grenade on you're belt was quiet useful… it also makes a nice ring," said Ryoma. "But then again to wait for an explosion is pretty slow…"

The man looked down at her left hand and saw the so called 'ring' on her finger, her gun was slightly smoking as if it was recently fired and that a grenade on his belt was missing.

"Shit…!" cursed the man. The leader started to sweat, and the regulars started to shake in fear.

There was two gun fires and the leader and the bulky man became limp, however the shot did not come from Ren or Ryoma. Then the was a honk of the horn, they turned to see a black car with tinted windows.

"Our ride here," said Ren, as he made his way to Ryoma and picked the girl up into his arms, "Where'd you learn how to fight, Ryo?"

"Instinct… and after all these people were, how, would you say it…? Quite unprepared for such irregular style…" said Ryoma.

Ren laughed, "What would the child who defeated Seiichi-kun say…? Made Made Dane…"

"I think Ryoma's looking for a new catch phrase," said Ryoma lightly.

"Really…? Then Ryoma really is changing…" laughed Ren as he held the door out for Ryoma to climb into the car.

"They know Ochibi!" said Eiji as he pointed to the car driving off.

"Geez that was scary! That kid moved before I could even blink," muttered Momo.

"It's rude of them to use Buchou's name such familiarly," said Kirihara.

"Not to mention Echizen's name," said Oishi.

"Yes… I will… bye," Atobe got off the phone and sighed, "It seems that we have to postpone the search for a while… there's a function tomorrow and apparently Takeuchi-san is going to be there…"

"What's with the long face?" asked Yukimura in an amused tone.

"I can not believe that man is richer than Ore-sama's family! A man that looks that young can't be a childhood rival of Ore-sama's father!" huffed Atobe.

"You've met his real face?" asked Yukimura in wonder.

"Of course this is an annual function and he comes to every one," said Atobe. "His taste in women are very strange…"

**LINEBREAKINGGLASSBREAKINGTAKINGABREAKISALSOCONSIDEREDBREAKINGBREAKINGUPISBREAKINGTOO**

"Ah… here it is…" said Ren as he rummaged around the attic.

"You do know that's a dress," said Ryoma.

"Of course I know," said Ren, "I thought you'd look cute in a dress rather than wear such boyish clothes…"

"Can't you make Ray-san wear a dress instead?" whined Ryoma.

"Ryoma, you do know that I'm a male," said Ray.

"And I was raised as a male," said Ryoma.

"I've worn a dress already," said Ray.

"When…?" asked Ryoma eagerly.

"Whenever Ren-sama needed a partner and couldn't find one," said Ray stiffly.

"Is it that hard to find a partner?" asked Ryoma as she tilted her head. "The whole day today I saw all these different females ogling him…"

Ray smiled at Ryoma, he was thankful she didn't laugh at his misfortune and could see how innocent she was, "He's an eligible, rich bachelor…"

"So women just throw themselves on him?" asked Ryoma.

"I'm here… and I can hear you," said Ren, as he dangled the dress in front of Ryoma.

"Fine… fine… I'll start wearing more feminine clothing," said Ryoma.

"Not using the word girly?" asked Ray.

"Not all clothes for females are girly…" pointed out Ryoma.

**Ren's a wanted man... wow!! i didn't even know... and i'm the author... lol... okay... fun... fun... fun... what's next?? tonnes of things are going to reveal itself... like reverse vampires... and stay tuned for more doctor Takeuchi fun!! thanks for reading!!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Secrets Kept**

**another chapter is up!! yay!! congradulations "speadee" you got most of the plot... im not exactly sure what AU stands for but i guess it's not that supernatural... just random... i guess...the hugging scene in the pervious chapter might be confusing however you have to wonder what Ryoma said to ren to cause him to be over joyed... :grins: and the part that the Echizens using famous people... i just use the fact that famous ppl are so famous that they don't get checked... well everyone knows that not exactly true but this is fantasy and we can make anything happen... lol... oh... and the running away part might not be believeable however if you think about it... if ryoma had planned this all along then it can be... remember the flash back saying 'after nationals' and ryoma sort of faking anmesia so that he can buy time... fun!! this story i think is getting random now... sorry if you also think so too... thanks for all the reviews!!**

**_CHAPTER SEVEN_**

"Takeuchi-sensei…" greeted Yukimura, as he walked in with his team and Seigaku.

"Ah… the same support," laughed Takeuchi. "Come now… anymore activity that I should take note of?"

"No…" said Yukimura as he turned red, while the other's snickered.

"What have you been doing since you're last appointment?" asked Takeuchi with a chuckle.

"Ummm… Looking for someone…" said Yukimura unsurely.

"Ah… you must mean that first year regular from Seigaku…" said Takeuchi, and then explained when he saw their priceless face, "Seigaku regulars are here as well, but one is missing…"

"Wow!! He's psychic!" exclaimed Kirihara.

"I've studied Psychology… but I'm not psychic," chuckled Takeuchi. They did a few tests before his stomach rumbled.

"You can eat you're lunch if you want," said Yukimura.

"That's not exactly…" started Takeuchi, but his phone rang. "Hello… yes… my younger sister…? A balaclava…? Oh… yes… let her through…"

He placed his phone down and laughed, "This must be my lucky day… not only do I meet with one of my cute patients and his friends… but also I find out I have a little sister…"

"You 'found out' you have a little sister?" questioned everyone. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," said Takeuchi. In came a girl wearing a balaclava and sunglasses, the only way they knew the person was a girl, was by what she wore. She a red dress coat and they could see a part of her checked skirt that was slightly longer that her coat. She also wore black stockings, black boots and black gloves.

"What can I do for you sister dear?" asked Takeuchi pleasantly through his mask.

"You forgot lunch," said the girl, as she held out a big paper bag that looked like it was for groceries.

"You're a life saver," said Takeuchi as he stood up and embraced her, "What's with the balaclava?"

"There were people ogling me," said the girl with a huff.

"Because you're cute," laughed Takeuchi.

"Girls as well?" asked the girl. "The next person that looks up my dress is going to get kicked in the most sensitive area of their body…"

"There were people looking up you're dress?" asked Takeuchi in surprise.

"Don't ask… eh… If Yukimura Seiichi is here then does that mean when he was playing tennis he wasn't a hundred percent?" asked the girl.

"No… he was more than a hundred percent," laughed Takeuchi, "he's here for his check up… you never know when he could relapse…"

"Ah… I'm going now…" said the girl.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here? Then I could protect you from perverts," said Takeuchi.

"Who's going to protect me from you?" asked the girl then walked out of the office, "Bye…"

"I'm not a pervert!" defended Takeuchi. "At least I have my lunch now…"

"Who was that Sensei?" asked Yukimura.

"My sister," laughed Takeuchi, as he opened up the paper bad and everyone anticipated to see his face because he had to remove the mask to eat.

"My… my… they out did themselves," said Takeuchi in amusement, and pulled out a blood bag. "They even got the right blood type…"

The regulars slowly backed away and ran out the door, leaving Takeuchi by himself. "Was it something I said? I guess the appointments done…"

"I finally got the complete set of limited edition of the blood bank series," said Takeuchi as he opened his cupboard and revealed a collection of other blood bags with different labels, "Time for lunch now!! Which none alcoholic wine should I try now? The one that says type AB? That doesn't go with my sandwiches though…"

**breakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreak**

"Oh gosh!! That was close!" said Marui.

"I've never met a reverse vampire!" said Eiji. "No wonder he wears a mask! He doesn't want to show his fangs!"

"Man that was close," said Jackal.

"I never knew…" said Yukimura.

"I thought we were going to get your blood sucked out of me…" said Momo.

"I wonder why we've never heard of any person getting their blood sucked out," said Fuji.

"Probably because that never happened," said a voice, they turned around and saw the girl before.

The regulars jumped slightly away, the girl laughed ever so lightly, "If only the other people would jump away like that…"

"What's this I hear about reverse vampires?" asked the girl.

"You're brother is a reverse vampire…" exclaimed Kirihara.

"My brother…? I didn't know I had a brother," said the girl. "And what gave you the impression that he was a reverse vampire…"

"He pulled out a blood bag out of the lunch bag you gave him!" accused Eiji.

"Oh… the limited edition non alcoholic wine that comes in every issue of the medical magazine," said the girl.

"How can we believe you," said Kaidoh.

"You don't have to," said the girl as she walked away.

"Hey! It's her!! She's just wearing a balaclava!" called out a boy. Next thing the boy knew was that he was on the floor holding onto his injured jewel.

"I'm a reverse vampire! Run away people!" called out the girl as she waved her a hand in the air.

"Maybe she's right," said Oishi.

"No human being can move that fast!" said Momo. "And she probably made up the magazine thing…"

"Usually vampires don't admit they are a vampire unless they plan to kill the person they told," said Fuji thoughtfully everyone shivered, "but I agree with Oishi… after all they are advertising their blood like wine on the bill boards…"

They looked up and saw the bill board and the advertisement. Inui and Renji started to scribble away as to take not of the phenomenon. Up in the hospital, Takeuchi was watching the scene as he ate his lunch, all the while chuckling.

**breakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreak**

"I still think he's a reverse vampire," said Momo, as they walked into Atobe's 'house'.

"Who is a reverse vampire?" asked Atobe.

"Takeuchi…" said Marui.

"How can he be a reverse vampire when he annual arrives at Ore-sama's house at night?" asked Atobe.

"He has a point," said Sanada.

"Fine… he's not… but his little sister is…" said Momo.

"He has a little sister?" asked Atobe, "I have never heard of this…"

"Now that you mention it," said Kawamura. "They both seemed to be surprised to be called siblings…"

"Maybe their cousins…" said Yagyuu.

"I must beat him tonight!" declared Atobe-san. Everyone looked at Atobe for an explanation.

"He's lost against Takeuchi-san in every challenge that they've done," said Atobe.

"So you get you're mean streak off him," said Fuji.

"Ore-sama will pretend that ore-sama did not hear that," said Atobe.

**breakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreak**

"Rin… where are you?" called out Ryoma as she came out of the shower. The said kitten was snuggling under the window, allowing the natural light flowing into the room to warm her as she napped, "Ah… there you are… you're lucky… you can sleep all day for as long as you like…"

"Honey…!! I'm home!" called out Ren.

"Paedophile…" muttered Ryoma, as she went to greet Ren, "Welcome back; did you have fun at work, dear?"

"You know I did… especially when there are people to tease…" laughed Ren.

"Ren-sama… welcome back," greeted Ray.

"Ray… it's good to be back…" said Ren cheerily.

"You make it sound like you just came back from a long trip," said Ryoma.

"But it was a long trip! From here to work is a long trip!" said Ren with reasoning in his voice, "And how did my favourite girl spend her day today?"

"In the garden…" shrugged Ryoma.

"You kept warm didn't you?" inquired Ren in worry.

"I made sure of it sir," said Ray.

"That's fine then," smiled Ren. "We don't want you getting sick again… now do we?"

"Yes… yes… I'll be careful," said Ryoma with a sigh.

"Excellent," said Ren, he took the towel from around Ryoma's shoulder and started to help dry Ryoma's hair, "First things first we can't let you catch a cold with your wet hair in this weather…"

"Oi…! I don't need you babying me!! I can dry my own hair," complained Ryoma.

"But I like babying you!" whined Ren, "you can't deny me this!"

"I think I know why you're not married now…" grumbled Ryoma, "you scared all the suitors…"

Ray laughed, "I believe suitors is the term for a man courting a woman… but then again in today's society it could be anyone courting anyone…"

"Are calling me the female, Ryo-chan?" sulked Ren.

"I didn't say anything along those lines," grinned Ryoma, "you said it…"

"You implied it!" said Ren.

"I did nothing of the sort," said Ryoma.

"Ray… she did imply it didn't she?" asked Ren.

"I believe you implied it yourself, sir," said Ray.

"You're always on Ryo-chan's side!" whined Ren.

"You should act you're age," said Ryoma, "Sometime I wonder if you're younger or really older than me…"

"You're just too mature for your age," said Ren with a smile.

"And you're childish for your age," said Ryoma with a smirk.

"That's why we compliment each other…" laughed Ren as he hugged Ryoma.

"Paedophile," muttered Ray and Ryoma under their breathes.

**breakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreakbreak**

"Okay… everything is perfect," said Atobe-san, "all the guests are all…"

"Darn him," muttered Atobe-san, "he's not here yet…"

"Is your father talking to himself?" asked Oishi.

"Sadly yes… when it comes to Takeuchi-san, he reaches insanity," said Atobe.

"Lady and Gentlemen, Takeuchi and his partner," announced the person at the door. Everyone turned to see the new comers.

"Ren-san…!" exclaimed Eiji as he bounded up to the familiar eighteen year old looking man.

"Ah… Kikumaru-san! How are you? You're as energetic as usual," laughed Ren.

"You know him?" asked Atobe.

"He's the nice person I was telling you guys about!" said Eiji as he jumped.

"Seiichi-kun… you're here too?" asked Ren, "Jolly good…"

"I see you've got better taste this time," said Atobe-san. "The last few years… I wondered if you asked you're butler's sister to be you're date…"

There was soft laughter next to Ren, everyone turned to the girl whose form was shaking as if to hold in the full onslaught of laughter. There stood a girl with long flowing emerald hair that was slightly curled and cascaded down to her hip. But her most predominate feature was her warm and playful golden eyes. She wore a very light blue over coat that reached her ankle and fit snugly around her.

"Would you like me to take your coat, Ma'me?" asked a servant.

"Oh no thanks," and her voice was so soft that caused everyone to sigh, "I've been told to keep warm to avoid getting sick again…"

"But I must say that you're partner looks pretty young," said Atobe-san.

"Don't worry he didn't turn into a paedophile," said Ryoma with a smile, "I assure you… I'm just here as his partner… because apparently his previous partner was busy tonight for some reason…"

"And may I ask what is you're name dear lady?" asked Atobe-san.

"Ryo-chan… is that you?" called out a female.

Ryoma turned to the voice, "Cindy! What are you doing here? I thought you'd be head high in paper work…"

"Oh my gosh…! It's so good to see you! Look at you… you've finally go into touch with your feminine side… take a look at you… my… you've grown…" gushed Cindy as she clasped Ryoma's hands, "we have to catch up! Excuse us…"

Cindy then guided Ryoma away for a private chat in a corner. Ren just looked on, "I guess she's found her secret keeper…"

Atobe-san looked at Ren and could see the tenderness in his eyes as he looked at Ryoma. He then looked at the girl who was quietly talking to Cindy. She was quite beautiful even though she seemed very young and not mature. Notably everyone in the ballroom had their attention on the two girls. There was a point where Ryoma was shaking her head and looked sad while Cindy looked worried and hugged the other girl as if to soothe her. Then they would both look in their direction. Suddenly, Cindy bounded up towards then with Ryoma in tow.

"Congratulations…! I'm so glad to finally meet you! I'm, in a way, a family friend of Ryo-chan… Cindy… Cindy Yoru," gushed Cindy as she furiously shook Ren's hand in excitement.

"Cindy you're making a huge scene," sighed Ryoma.

"I'm just happy for you," smiled Cindy.

"Why is that everything you say sounds like you're marrying me off? What are you doing here anyway?" asked Ryoma, "I never thought you would go to a function like this…"

"I was invited by Atobe-san for some competition…" shrugged Cindy, even in her late twenties she was laid back and calm.

Atobe-san coughed, Ryoma looked over and said, "Ah… you must be the Atobe that would be childhood friend slash rival with…"

"Yes…" interrupted Atobe-san, "May I ask who you are?"

"Ryo…" said Ryoma, with a grin. "Tonight I'm Ryo…"

"Tonight…?" questioned Atobe-san.

"Mmm… I might call myself something else tomorrow…" smiled Ryoma, and then spotted the regulars and smiled.

"Ne… still think he's a reverse vampire?" asked Ryoma.

"You're that girl!" realised the regulars.

Ryoma winked playfully, "watch you're back or else you might be my next blood donor…"

"But I'm surprised that all of Seigaku is still here… all that's missing now is all of Hyotei's regulars and the three rival tennis schools would be under the same roof… however, you should really beware because you might be getting in over your heads," said Ryoma thoughtfully with a smile then excused herself to accompany Ren.

"She forgot to mention Echizen," said Momo.

"Maybe she thinks Echizen is around," said Marui.

"I think she left Echizen out on purpose," said Fuji as he revealed his eyes. "She knows something…"

"She sort of looks familiar," said Yukimura.

"Ready for the first competition, Takeuchi?" asked Atobe-san, as they all sat at the table waiting to be served dinner. "You can of course have help from you're partner…"

"I'm always am…" smiled Ren.

Atobe snapped his fingers, "Guess the song before the lyrics come or Yoru says the title…"

The song started but only for five seconds before someone had answered, "He Said, She Said; Ashley Tisdale, from the album 'Headstrong'…"

Everyone turned to the speaker, Ryoma looked blankly at everyone, "What…? I'm right aren't I?"

"Don't worry… you are," smiled Cindy who was sitting across her.

"I've heard that song hasn't come out yet," whispered a person.

Song after song it only took mere seconds before Ryoma named the song, the artist and the album. "I'm surprised that all of them are all English songs…"

"It seems that you're partner is a well informed woman," said Atobe-san.

Cindy couldn't hell but snort, "Hardly…"

"Why may I ask were you unable to recite the songs, when you in fact was the person who recorded the songs?" asked Atobe-san.

"Who can beat the song writer?" asked Cindy in amusement.

"Song writer…?" questioned every one, they turned to Ryoma who smiled in return and tilted her head to the side innocently.

"Cindy's my manager," said Ryoma, "She decides which song suits the artist…"

"It seems your father lost first round," whispered Yukimura.

"Round two; name the play," said Atobe-san, he gestured to his servant to proceed.

"Quote one: 'every man has his…'" started the servant.

"Man for all seasons," interrupted Ryoma.

"How can you be sure, he hasn't finished the quote?" asked Atobe-san.

"I'm quite sure; it was supposed to be 'every man has his price' that was spoken from Rich to Moore in the play 'Man for all Season' by Robert Bolt," said Ryoma. Before anyone could ask her how she knew she already had a reply ready, "I've already read that play as well as the plays from Shakespeare. I liked 'The Merchant of Venice', such a funny play…"

"Round two won by her again," whispered Marui, "I think you're father won't live this down…"

"Atobe-san… I was raised in America so I hope all these topics are not all in English," said Ryoma with a smile.

"What's more amusing is that Takeuchi-san doesn't seem to mind his partner taking all the challenges," whispered Yukimura.

"Ore-sama can not believe this is such a one sided match," said Atobe as he shook his head.

They watched as round after round Atobe-san wasn't able to win a round while Ren had won all the rounds without even saying a word. From talking foreign languages to poetry and memory… It was then the decider… the last round.

"Let's have a tennis match…" smiled Atobe-san.

Ryoma groaned and turned to Ren, "I hope you know how to play… because I don't want to…"

"Do you not know how to play?" asked Atobe-san, with a smile, if she did not know how to play then he would win this round because Ren only knew the basics.

"You really shouldn't play or exercise straight after eating," said Ryoma, as she gestured to the plate in front of her and to put more emphasis she started to eat.

"Ma… ma… trust you to find someone who knows something about health," laughed Atobe-san.

"Iie… she's been hanging around my sister more than me," laughed Ren.

"So you met Ryo-san through you're sister?" asked Atobe-san.

"Iie… you could say we happened to be at the same vending machine," laughed Ren. Rent hen watched Ryo, "Hey… Ryo-chan… why do get the spaghetti and I get fried rice?"

Ryoma looked up from her plate and looked at Ren as she chewed, she then proceed to scoop half of Ren's food onto her plate then swapped plates, and continued to eat. Ren pick up the fork that Ryoma used to eat her spaghetti and started to eat.

"You do know that's indirect kissing," said Ryoma as she looked at him.

"Love you too," smiled Ren, Ryoma shook her head in return as she returned to her rice.

"It's so lovey dovey…" sighed Eiji, while some were gagging.

**He He... what do you think... getting random right... and so not believable... but hey... my ideas were getting a bit farfetched... and i had to write it down somewhere... lol hopes it's alright... if you have nay questions i'll be happy to clarify in the next note before the next chapter... cheers!! thanks for reading**


	9. Chapter 8

**Secrets Kept**

**sorry for the long wait... i was supposed to updat yesterday but i was at an excusion to a sikh worship place... so... for you entertainment i'm going to updat two chapters... as for the parts as ren being referered to a paedophile... well... he sort of acts like one... a strange interest in little kids... mostly ryoma... but you could say it's only misinterpretation on some peoples parts... those watching on... lol... and the competion is an ansual thing for atobe-san and ren since they are somewhat 'destined' rivals... and now i think i confused everyone... i'll shut up now... lol... thanks for all the reviews!! Beware of randomness!!**

**_CHAPTER EIGHT_**

_"Okay…" started Atobe-san._

_"Wait...! I have something for Ryo-chan," said Cindy as she ran with a racquet in her hand and handed it to Ryoma._

_"This is…" started Ryoma as she hand her hand along the racquet._

_Atobe-san saw the racquet and stalked up to them and snatched the racquet, "Where did you get this racquet?"_

_"Oi… Atobe-san please return my racquet!" requested Ryoma crisply._

_"No… this racquet does not belong to you…" said Atobe-san, "I ask you again, where, did you get this racquet?"_

_"How do you know it does not belong to me?" asked Ryoma dangerously._

_"This is my friend's racquet… I recognise this racquet anywhere… after all I was there when this racquet was bought," said Atobe-san._

_"Atobe… I would appreciate if you return the racquet to Ryo-chan…" said Ren calmly._

_"I'm giving you ten seconds to return the racquet," said Ryoma as there was a dangerous glint in her eyes._

_"I will not return this racquet to anyone but the owner," said Atobe-san defiantly._

_Ryoma who had her eyes close during the count down opened them again and took and deep breath, "Don't say I didn't warn you… prepare to be sued and get kicked to hell and back again…"_

_"And on what grounds are you suing?" asked Atobe as he backed up his father._

_"Stay out of this," glared Ryoma dangerously, "And for your information this is on the basis of theft that is criminal offence and trespass on property which is a civil offence."_

_Ryoma looked over to Cindy, "Your going to be my witness right?"_

_"Of course," said Cindy in a business like manner._

_"Today is December 5th, 9 o'clock," said Ryoma as she looked at the clock, "The defendant, who is Atobe, refuses to return my racquet which has sentiment value…"_

_Atobe-san snorted, "Sentimental value…?"_

_Ryoma closed her eyes and rubbed her head, "Rinko…"_

_"Huh?" _

_"That's what is engraved on the racquet," said Ryoma, "Rinko was my mother's name… do you get it now? That's my mother's racquet…"_

_"You're… Rinko's… daughter?" asked Atobe-san which wide eyes._

_"Yes, I am…" said Ryoma, "Now will you please return the racquet, or will I proceed to take civil action?"_

_"Iie…" said Atobe-san softly, as he handed back the racquet, "I didn't know Rinko had a daughter…"_

_"Its fine," said Ryoma as she took the racquet and rubbed her head._

_"Are you alright Ryo-chan?" asked Ren worriedly, and place his hand on her forehead. His features darkened, "You shouldn't stress yourself so much… you're getting sick again…"_

_"I'm fine," said Ryoma as she pushed the hand away, "I want to play with Okaa-san's racquet just once…"_

_Ren looked at the girl tenderly, "You played tennis because of her… and now you have her racquet in you're hand…"_

_Ryoma spun around and allowed her long hair to dance around her; she smiled warmly, "Just one more time… you'll watch my tennis right?"_

_Ren smiled at her, "Of course… I won't miss it for the world…"_

_Ryoma's eyes hardened when she turned to Atobe-san, "Are you my opponent? Because I warn you… you're going to get creamed…"_

_Atobe-san shivered and unconsciously took a step back, Atobe took a step forward, "I'm you're opponent…"_

_"Atobe-san pisses me off and backs off when I want to kill him," muttered Ryoma, she let out a long sigh, "I guess his son has to do…"_

_Ryoma took off her long coat and handed it to Ren; everyone just gaped at the girl. She looked like an angel. She wore a beige flowing dress that reached her ankle. He sleeves were bell shaped and seemed to be made of organza and they could see her smooth arms and shoulders. She also wore cream coloured high heeled shoes._

_"Ne… He has to wear a dress and high heels too," said Ryoma, "Why am I the only one who has to play in heels and a dress?"_

_"Probably because he's a guy," said Cindy with a chuckle. "But I would like Keigo wearing a dress and playing in heels."_

_"Ore-sama will not stoop that low to wear such things," said Atobe with a huff._

_"Okay… either way, I'm going to win," smiled Ryoma. _

_Atobe went to the service line, "Ore-sama will take pity on you…"_

_Atobe did a normal slow serve to prove his point, only to have the ball zoom past him when he got out of his serving pose._

_"I think you should quit monkeying around unless you want to have a love game…" giggled Ryoma._

_"That's no ordinary girl," said Marui, everyone nodded in agreement._

_"Love-fifteen, ne?" said Ryoma as she tilted her head to the side innocently._

_'Don't be deceived by a pretty and innocent face,' thought everyone._

_It was a slaughter; the match was so one-sided; the regulars started to sweat, as they watch in disbelief and could not believe there was a girl so strong and so quick. Even when they thought she tripped, her eyes would flash, and would place a hand on the ground and hand spring up._

_"Kyah…! She's so cool and so cute," squealed a woman._

_"To be winning against Keigo…" started a man._

_"Ryo-chan… you did very good," smiled Ren as the girl leaned against him. Ryoma just smiled up and the man, "Go to sleep… we'll be home soon…"_

_Ryoma nodded and closed her eyes; she didn't tire herself out or break a sweat. But having all the events that happen crashing down took its toll and she knew for sure she wouldn't be able to go outside anytime soon._

_"Ren-sama…" said Ray as he appeared behind him, he saw Ryoma and asked, "Is she alright sir?"_

_"Of course! But I think she stressed herself back into sickness," said Ren as he lifted the child into his arm._

_"Are you sure you don't want me to carry her sir?" asked Ray. Ren just looked at him, "I understand sir…"_

_"Could you get Ryo-chan's racquet and my coat?" asked Ren._

_"Yes, sir," said Ray._

_"Takeuchi-san, please take care of her," smile Cindy, "I'm going back to America tomorrow and I doubt I'll see her soon… but knowing that you'll be there for her brings relief to my heart…"_

_"She's under good care," smiled Ren, "Thank you for you're friendship and you're guidance in her life… from what I've heard, she really looks up to you…"_

_"Not as much as you're sister," smiled Cindy with a wink, Ren then turned his attention to Atobe-san._

_"Atobe… don't ever pull a stunt like that again," said Ren pleasantly, but the regulars knew it was just like Fuji. It was a warning… they watched as Ray lead the way and Ren who had Ryoma in his arm walked away._

_"How pitiful…" muttered Atobe-san, "He can't get Rinko and he goes for her daughter…"_

_"You really don't get it," said Cindy as she shook her head, "But I guess it comes from being a primate."_

_"Why do I get the feeling that everyone knows about the 'Monkey King' Nickname is going around?" said Momo._

**_thisisalineandthislineistodividethescenesthisisalineandthislineistodividethescenesthisisalineandthislineistodividethescenesthisisalineandthislineistodividethescenes_**

_"I think we should pay your doctor a home visit, Yukimura," said Fuji with his eyes open. "He's knows something about Echizen… I can feel it…"_

_The regulars were outside the Takeuchi residence and were surprised that it wasn't that large. It was late in the afternoon and they all stood in front of the door and rung the door bell._

_"Hello down there…" called a voice, they looked up and saw Ryoma and seemed to be still in her sleepwear, looking down from the window, "Oh… it took you a while to come ne…? Err… hold on ten minutes…"_

_Surprisingly instead of ten minutes it was five, the girl opened the door and was surprised how fast she had changed and got down stairs._

_"This girl has no sense of time," muttered Kirihara._

_"Would you like to come in?" asked Ryoma with a slight smile._

_"Is Takeuchi-sensei here?" asked Yukimura._

_"Iie… but he's probably on his way home," said Ryoma, as she led them into the lounge room. "Would you like anything to drink?"_

_"Err…"_

_"Tea it is then," said Ryoma as she walked out and went to get tea. Ten minutes later Ryoma came back with five cups of tea and a plate of cookies, and then walked out again, to return more cups of tea and cookies._

_Ryoma sat down and looked at them, Eiji who took a bite of the cookie, "Nyah… Yummy!!"_

_Eiji leaped and hugged Ryoma, "Thank you for the yummy cookie…"_

_"You should really thank Okaa-san…" chuckled Ryoma, "The recipe is from her…"_

_"Is she here?" asked Fuji._

_"Iie… Why, do you want to talk her?" asked Ryoma._

_"So… you stay here with Takeuchi-san by yourself?" asked Sanada._

_"Of course not, Ray-san also lives here," said Ryoma, clueless to what was going on._

_"Have you ever thought that maybe Takeuchi-san might be seeing you as a replacement?" asked Oishi._

_"A replacement…? For what…?" asked Ryoma who was still clueless._

_'She's clueless,' sighed the regulars._

_"Do you know how old Takeuchi-san is?" asked Momo._

_"Mid-thirties," said Ryoma with a shrug._

_'She knows how old he is but doesn't care…' thought everyone._

_"What exactly is the point of your visit?" asked Ryoma as she started to doubt they knew anything._

_"We were wondering," started Marui._

_"If Takeuchi-san knows where our kouhai is?" asked Kawamura._

_"Of course he does," said Ryoma, "not unless he's blind or has amnesia…"_

_"How can you be sure he know where Echizen is?" asked Kaidoh._

_"He won't know where Echizen is…" said Ryoma._

_"But you just said…" started Oishi._

_"But he will know where Ryoma is," grinned Ryoma._

_"You speak in riddles," said Yukimura. "What do you mean?"_

_"If you don't know… then I won't tell," hummed Ryoma. "Why are you searching for a boy?"_

_"He's our Kouhai… he needs our support just like how he supported us like a pillar," said Tezuka._

_"Even if there's a possibility that you could die?" asked Ryoma, "It's a dangerous world where nothing is what it seems…"_

_"Even if there's a possibility of death… we need to know what's wrong with Ochibi! Even if he jumps off a cliff… we'll follow!" exclaimed Eiji, everyone nodded, though they all sweat dropped at the cliff part._

_Ryoma started to cry, which caused the others to panic, "What's wrong? Did I upset you?"_

_"Gomen… Gomen…" whispered Ryoma as she continued to cry._

_"You don't have to say sorry," said Eiji as he tried to comfort the girl. They waited, for the girl to calm down; somehow the Seigaku regulars felt responsible for the girl's tears but didn't know why._

_"Are you feeling better?" asked Oishi._

_"Sorry," apologised Ryoma as she offered a smile. Oishi returned the smile._

_"Why are you here?" asked Atobe as he looked at Ryoma._

_Ryoma frowned, "I live here… why else would I be here…"_

_"Takeuchi-san doesn't love you," said Atobe._

_"Of course he does," retorted Ryoma._

_"Ore-sama hate to tell you this… but Ore-sama knows Takeuchi-san isn't in love with you but your mother," said Atobe, "So you should move on… and find someone else… someone preferably within your age range…"_

_They have expected the girl to cry hysterically because she found out the truth or go into denial and try to kick them out and demand to never see them again. However they did not expect Ryoma's reaction._

_Ryoma grinned widely before s small chuckle escaped her lip before she went into full laughter. "What the hell are you guys thinking? I'm seriously not with either…." _

_She continued to laugh until there were tears in her eyes; they didn't know what to do or what Atobe said that was so funny._

_"Honey…! I'm home!" called out Ren._

_Ryoma stopped laughing and started to curse under her breath, while looking like she was about to strangle something._

_"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" asked Ray, then saw the regulars, "And I see we have some guests…"_

_Ryoma started to laugh again, "You would never guess what they just told me…"_

_When she told him, Ray shook his head in amusement and chuckled, "My… my… it must be Ren-sama's open attitude that did that…"_

_"Young lady… aren't you supposed to be in bed…?" accused Ren from the door._

_"Welcome home," laughed Ryoma, as she ran to Ren, who picked her up and twirled her around._

_"Definitely a couple," muttered Momo._

_"No signs of being a replacement," muttered Jackal._

_"How was work?" asked Ryoma._

_"There was a woman who was trying to come onto me," said Ren with a laugh._

_"Is that a good or bad thing?" asked Ryoma she looked at Ren trying to see any signs of emotion._

_Ren laughed, "I scared her off… she hastily excused herself saying that she was married and it was a mistake…"_

_Ryoma looked bewildered and at the same time laughing, "Did you two do anything though? Kissing…? Hugging…? Because she made it sound like a one night stand just happened…"_

_Ryoma's eyes widened and shook her head, "Unless… you… you intentionally showed you're wine collection… she thought you're a reverse vampire…"_

_Ren lowered his head until his forehead and Ryoma's touched, "You still have a fever… and it's shooting up…"_

_"Gomen…" muttered Ryoma, as she looked down, and then looked up with eyes filled with innocence, "but I couldn't leave them out in the cold!"_

_Ren looked over to where she gestured, "And this is the point where you start asking…"_

_"Can I keep them?" asked Ryoma with grin, "I'll look after them… and I promise not neglect them like I neglected Bob the fish…"_

_"Why do I feel like we're lost pets?" muttered Marui._

_Ren laughed as he ruffled Ryoma's hair, "Why'd you say fish? I half expected you to say cat…"_

_"I'll never neglect a feline…" said Ryoma, as Rin sat and looked up at Ryoma, "Right Rin?"_

_Ryoma picked Rin up in her arms and the cat purred, "See? Shame… Shame on you for thinking that…"_

_"Ray…" started Ren._

_"I'll make sure Ryoma goes to bed," said Ray and left with Ryoma in tow._

_"Ryoma!?"_

_"How may I help you boys out?" asked Takeuchi pleasantly._

_"You've been keeping Ochibi here!" accused Eiji._

_"I assure you, Ryo-chan stayed here by her free will," said Takeuchi._

_"Her..?" inquired Inui._

_"Ryoma is a female…" said Ren._

_"Is that why Ochibi left home?" asked Eiji._

_"What?" questioned Ren._

_"Did Echizen leave home to be with you?" asked Niou._

_"I think she would appreciate it if you never use the name Echizen in front of her," smiled Ren, "Also, refrain from the use of the name in front of me…"_

_"Then how will we refer to her?" asked Kirihara._

_"Her name Ryoma," smiled Ren. "So how may I help you?"_

_"Stop using Ochibi," said Eiji._

_"I don't understand you're meaning Kikumaru-san," said Ren with a frown._

_"What Eiji means to say is that, you should stop using Ech… Ryoma as a replacement…" said Yukimura, "you may be in love her mother but she's married now and you can't use Ryoma as a replacement…"_

_Ren looked at them for a minute before bursting out laughing, "And I was wondering why Ryoma was laughing so much before…"_

**oh fun!! the regulars finally find ryoma!! after so much looking... and misunderstandings are still going around...**


	10. Chapter 9

**Secrets Kept**

**Another chapter up!! funness... warning!! more randomness may follow... i think the rest of the other chapters may be a bit random too... p Have fun reading!!**

**_CHAPTER NINE_**

_"Did we say something funny again?" questioned Kirihara._

_"Of course I'm in love with Rinko," laughed Ren. "But I can't deny that I love Ryoma also…"_

_"You can't love them both!" said Eiji as he pointed his finger at him._

_"Of course I can," said Ren calmly, "Ryoma of course loves me as well… I can never be in love with her… I for one don't want to be charged for being a paedophile…"_

_"And does she know that?" asked Fuji with open eyes._

_Ren smiled which surprised the prodigy since Ren wasn't scared, "Of course she knows… she knows it better than anyone else…"_

_"EH?"_

_"After all she is…" started Ren, but was interrupted when they heard a big boom; Ren bolted, "RYOMA!"_

_They all ran up the stairs to see if the girl was okay; around the corner they saw Ray covering the girl from what seemed to be an exploded door._

_"Ray-san… are you alright?" asked Ryoma from underneath him._

_"I'm fine ma'me," said Ray as he got up and helped her up to her feet._

_"Ryoma…Ray are you alright?" called out Ren as he rushed over._

_"We're fine," said Ryoma, as she dusted off her skirt. "Another reason I want to kill Atobe-san…"_

_"Why do you want to kill Ore-sama's father?" demanded Atobe._

_"Because of him… they know I'm here…" snorted Ryoma with a glare; a glare that was scarier that anything they've seen in their whole life, "Which means it's only a matter of time where the big guns come in…"_

_"What's going on?" asked Momo._

_"It's a war, Momo-sempai," said Ryoma. Ryoma had a gleam in her eyes, as she smiled, "It seems life has become more complicated… welcome to the Society of the Red Tape, where you're life can end in a blink of an eye… and anything illegal is considered legal… the ring leader: Echizen Nanjiroh…"_

_"What does Ore-sama's father has to do with this?"_

_"Have you ever wondered how you're family is wealthy?" asked Ren._

_"Ore-sama does not know… but Ore-sama is sure it's legal…" said Atobe._

_"He's part of this society, Monkey King," said Ryoma looked at the remains of the door. "He's part of the conspiracy… his only the worker…"_

_"What are you saying brat?" demanded Atobe._

_"Keigo… what Ryoma is trying to say… is that besides doing business, on the side lines your father has been dealing drugs," said Ren._

_"That is baloney," scoffed Atobe. "Okaa-san assured me that everything we've done is legal…"_

_Ryoma snorted, "then you're father's been lying to her too…"_

_"I'm not listening to a brat who ran away from home to be with a man who is more than three times older," scoffed Atobe. "You should go home…"_

_Smack_

_"I'll make this clear… I did not just run away to hear you rambling about why you think I ran away from home," said Ryoma in a deadly voice, "I did not come all this way to be reminded that Okaa-san died in the hands of the person she married, pooled in her own blood that stains the tennis court that she loves. She began on the courts and she ended on the courts…"_

_Ryoma didn't even blink, as her rage continued, "I didn't get this far to turn back to act as a drug mule because they think I'm male and I'm going to do big things… I don't… I don't…"_

_"Ryoma…!" Ren cried as he appeared by her side, but Ryoma pushed him away and looked Atobe, who sported a red cheek, with a death glare._

_Ryoma breathing became laboured as she placed a hand on her forehead, the world around her started to fade, "I don't care… what… what you say… I'm… not going back…"_

_Ryoma's world went black, the regulars panicked as Ryoma stared to fall, Ren was right next to her to catch her. He swept her into his arm effortlessly, and walked away wordlessly._

_Ray turned to them, still composed, "If you please follow me, I'll lead you back to the lounge…"_

_Atobe was just gaping like a fish, he was speechless and he could say anything because everything he was trying to take in was still jumbled._

**_randomnessrandomnessrandomnessrandomnessrandomnessrandomnessrandomnessrandomnessrandomnessrandomnessrandomnessrandomness_**

_"Is she alright, sir?" asked Ray._

_"Its worse," sighed Ren as he collapsed into a seat. Yukimura was speechless, as it was his first time he saw his doctor look so stressed. "Her fever's higher than last time… I'm surprised that she isn't delirious… or better yet in a coma…"_

_"!"_

_"Ochibi…! We're sorry!" said Eiji as he stood up and looked like he was planning to visit Ryoma._

_"Kikumaru-san… please sit down," said Ren as he massaged the bridge of his nose, "You need to know about the Echizen's and the Society and what Ryoma has been through…"_

_And so Ren recounted what Ryoma had told him about the history of the Echizen's; the death of Rinko, the new woman and the reason Ryoma was a 'boy'._

_"We're sorry for causing this mess," apologised Tezuka._

_"Its fine," smiled Ren, "Ryoma really missed her sempai-tachi… though she doesn't say so… I know they say she talks about each person, she really cares about you…"_

_"Ochibi talks about us?" asked Eiji as he bounced in his seat._

_"How did you meet Ryoma? If she didn't run away to be with you?" asked Yukimura._

_"I actually met her by a vending machine," said Ren with a smile and the look of nostalgia, "we both have a fondness for Ponta…"_

_The Seigaku regulars' just sweat dropped, they should have suspected that Ryoma would still drink that fizzy drink._

_"I recognised her the moment I saw her, the same person that defeated Seiichi-kun which mind you is a big feat for a twelve year old," said Ren. "I'm thankful that I sneaked out to get a drink or else I would have never met her… she's help be regain the memories that I've lost for so long…"_

_"Memories..?"_

_"Ah… twelve years ago, I lost my memories and Ray, my butler found my on the seashore…" sighed Ren._

_"So you're not using Ochibi to get over her mother?" asked Eiji._

_Ren laughed, "Why would I do that? I might do outrageous things but nothing so shallow…"_

_"So what was that couple display and the 'honey' thing?" asked Jackal._

_"I've always wanted to do that when I come home from work," laughed Ren._

_"Rest assured, Ren-sama does that even before Ryoma appeared," said Ray; everyone sweat dropped._

_'Weirdo,' thought the regulars._

_Ren sweat dropped as he had a feeling that they were thinking badly of him, but it wasn't the first time this happened. After all he was always called childish and strange._

_"How is it, that Ryoma helped you retrieve you're memory?" asked Inui._

_"She resembles Rinko so much…" sighed Ren, "We were lovers… childhood sweethearts… we actually planned our lives out under this same roof…"_

_"Ryo-chan knew exactly who I was when I told her about my broken memories… Rinko has strange taste when it comes to bedtime stories," chuckled Ren, "I'm surprised how Ryo-chan turned out the way she did, with her upbringing. But I guess it comes from Rin-chan… tennis runs through her veins and the sense of justice…"_

_No one dared interrupt his musing, "Then again, Ryo-chan is more like her father… stubborn… isn't that right Ray?"_

_"You're right sir," agreed Ray, "and may I add, some of the father's habits… and love of animals…"_

_Something hit Fuji, "The party… she said 'just one more time'… is she quitting tennis?"_

_"Ah… she never really wanted to take tennis seriously," smiled Ren sadly, "Though it is in her blood… she said she doesn't have the heart to play competitively… I guess you've lost a regular…"_

_"Why…?" asked Kirihara, "the kid can still beat all of us hands down… is she bored because there's no one her level…"_

_"It's not the matter of the opponent," said Ren, "it is to do with her resolve to play tennis… the reason she started to play tennis…"_

_"The reason she started to play tennis…?" repeated Sanada._

_"Yes… the reason she took up tennis… to be stronger… to defeat all her opponents…" said Ren, "was for her mother…"_

_"Her mother…?" questioned everyone._

_"Rin-chan was a rising tennis star, she was defeating professionals left and right," explained Ren, "however she became pregnant with Ryo-chan and she's never picked up a racquet ever since…"_

_"What does that have to do with…?" started Marui._

_"Ryo-chan took it upon herself to start tennis for Rin-chan," interrupted Ren, "she thought that if she played her best and somehow inspired her mother; Rin-chan would pick up and racquet again and play a match with her. Ryo-chan's dream was to play tennis with her mother, to see her mother continue on with her dream…"_

_"I wanted to play tennis with all I have," said Ryoma with a look of determination, "I believe that if Okaa-san sees me play, she'll give into the temptation and pick up a racquet. And maybe… just maybe… we can have a match together… I want to see the passion in her eyes that I saw in the videos for myself… the determination when she calculates the next move… I wanted Okaa-san's eyes to lose that sadness…"_

_Ren slouched in his chair, "only now… neither of them can complete their dream… their dream will now always remain a dream… I know… I just know that Ryo-chan I had a different dream and once upon a time wanted to fulfil… before she gave it up to play tennis… but I don't know… she won't tell me…"_

_"I tried talking to Yoru-san, but it seems Ryo-chan already sworn her to secrecy," shrugged Ren. _

_"Can it be song writing?" asked Renji._

_"No… I've already eliminated that… I've also eliminated voice acting and medicine," said Ren. "Ryoma… you have definitely surpassed Okaa-san and Otou-san… Apparently you're the walking definition of a prodigy…"_

_All the regulars did a double take, 'Ryoma is a prodigy…'_

_Meow_

_"What is it Rin?" asked Ren, as he looked at the kitten near his feet._

_Meow_

_"Ryoma…?"_

_Meow Meow_

_Ren stood up, "What's wrong with Ryoma…?"_

_Ren swiftly left the room; Ray followed him, as did the guests. They reached a door and could here a groan from the other side. Ren swung opened the door to find Ryoma struggling out of bed; he immediately went to her side._

_"Ryoma… lie down… you're not well…" insisted Ren, "get some sleep…"_

_"I can't," said Ryoma tiredly, as she frowned, "I can't stop thinking… it's giving me headache… I never think… arg… it's all Monkey King's fault…"_

_"Lay back down," said Ren, in the background Atobe huffed "I'll help you clear your mind…"_

_Ryoma shook her hand, "I want to see Okaa-san…"_

_'She wants to die?!' panicked the regulars._

_"Come here," said Ren as he picked the girl up and sat on the window ledge with his arms around Ryoma. They both looked out up into the sky, the Seigaku regulars recognised the distant look in her eyes. Her frown disappeared as Ren started to hum a soft tune under his breath. Ryoma leaned against Ren as she slowly closed her eyes, the face showed peace and at the same time there was a soft pleasant smile present on her face. It wasn't long before her breathing got deeper and they knew she was fast asleep. Ren was still humming when he lifted the girl and placed her back into bed and tucked her in._

_"For you are not alone…" whispered Ren as he brushed away the loose strands on Ryoma's face and stroked her cheek lovingly._

_"Ochibi looks peaceful," whispered Eiji, as they crept out of the bedroom. Ren softly closed the door as they all left._

_"Ray… please secure the area," said Ren in a business like tone that the regulars never heard before. His cell rung once before he answered it, "Echizen… what a pleasant surprise… no I'm still alive and well… you're son…? What ever do you mean…? I never met the boy… and I swear it on my life… Atobe…?"_

_Every one hung onto every word, each one was short and pleasant, "Cross dressing…? Is that what Atobe said? Seriously… the only cross-dressing partner I took to that party was my butler, who Atobe thought was his sister…"_

_"I know… rest assure I'll keep that in mind," Ren's eyes then hardened, "give my regards to you're wife ne?"_

_"It's only a matter of time now…" sighed Ren as he ran his hand through his hair, "the impending war has just come closer…"_

_Ray came back, "Sir, the area is now fully secure… is this the beginning of the end, sir?"_

_"Yes it is… I've finally found my purpose in my bleak life… the reason why fate took away my memory," said Ren._

_"Sir… you can't possibly…" started Ray._

_"Can I trust you to side with me, old friend?" asked Ren._

_"Of course, sir," bowed Ray._

_"Well boys… I think you should all go home," smiled Ren as he looked at the regulars, "You've found what you were looking for but you shouldn't go back to the Atobe estate… it is only a matter of time when word gets out and Echizen finds out what is going behind his back… you're safety is in peril."_

_"What about Ochibi?" asked Eiji._

_"She'll be safe with me," smiled Ren._

_"But you're the target!" said Oishi._

_"Iie… Ryoma is the target, they want her back…" said Ray, "Ren-sama is just an obstacle to their objective…"_

_"Then you're risking you're life to protect her?" asked Yukimura._

_"I'll risk my life again and again if I had nine lives," said Ren, "She, after all, represents my love and it is after all my job to protect her… and even if I have to forfeit my life for hers I'll do it in a snap…"_

_"You really do love her," said Fuji with a smile._

_"Of course I do, even more than Ponta…" said Ren. "She is after all my daughter…"_

**secrets out!! whoop!! fun fun fun!! fatherly love!!next chapter... some one dies... more like three dies... someone gets kissed... someone leaves... and a funeral... who can it be?? they all could be the same person... next update is next week!! i'll try updating earlier... but i doubt i could... sorry!!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Secrets Kept**

**and heres the next chapter... two more chapters left plus a epilogue... hopefully... sorry if my pervious chapters went haywire on some ppl!! three ppl die here... one of them i wish i didn't kill... WOAH!! :sobs: why... WHY!! ... okay... gettting to melodramatic... thanks for all the review!! kisses and hugs all round!! enjoy reading!! more revelations on LUna and Nanjiroh in this chapter!! which i find a bit twisted... but that's just me... yes... **

**CHAPTER TEN**

"D…Daughter?!" exclaimed the regulars.

"Didn't you know?" asked Ren, "Oh… that's right… you thought Ryo-chan and I were romantically involved…"

"Well…" said Oishi awkwardly, "I guess… we owe you an apology…"

"Iie… Keigo is the only one who need to apologise," said Ren, "Not to me but to Ryo-chan… because of you Ryo-chan is sicker than ever… whenever she thinks she gets headaches…"

"How is that possible?" asked Renji, "would she not have headaches while sitting for an exam?"

"That's a funny story you see," said Ren, "Ryo-chan's mind works differently from all of us it seems…"

"Differently than all of us?" questioned everyone.

"Yes…she never thinks at all, she just says or does what ever," explained Ren, "Ryo-chan says that everything just pops into her head, no thinking involved."

"_If for example, I take a test," narrated Ryoma, "I read the question and the answers just pop up in my head… however if nothing pops up then that means I don't know or haven't learnt it…"_

"To be honest… she openly admitted that she's never thought about something thoroughly in her life," said Ren. "That is apparently why I think she is a walking definition of a prodigy, she knows what she can and can't do…"

"That's probably why she bluntly states things," said Momo.

"Funny how you mention that," laughed Ren, "Somehow… she can control her own mind… I don't know how it's possible when she doesn't think. But the arrogant 'boy' you knew was all an act… it seems that Ryo-chan can trick her mind into think that she really is an arrogant boy…"

"H… How is that possible," stuttered Inui, "It's illogical!"

"It is… but Ryo-chan does many illogical things that it's practically defined logical, even the age she stopped growing was unexpected… I stopped at the age of 18 she stopped at 8…" said Ren, "Now if you'll excuse me I would like to prepare my revenge against Atobe and Echizen."

"!"

"After all, they are the reason why I lost my memories and found at the seashore," said Ren, "Ray… please show these boys out…"

"Hai…" said Ray as he gestured for the boys to follow him.

"Can… Can I stay?" asked Eiji, "Being Ochibi's sempai… sempai's have the responsibility to look after their kouhai…"

Fuji placed his hand on Eiji's shoulder, "That goes for me as well…"

"We should have been there for Ochibi, even if she didn't tell us what's wrong," said Eiji, "Ochibi even attempted to push us away, to protect us…"

"She's special to us… if she wasn't then we wouldn't have gone all this way just to find her," continued Oishi as he stepped forward.

"Even if 'he' was really a she," said Kawamura.

"She's still the brat of the team," said Momo.

"She's unique," said Inui.

"Fshu… Even though some comments were uncalled for," said Kaidoh, "She was honest…"

"She is our pillar," said Tezuka. A/N: so typical...

"Ochibi was there when we needed her;" said Eiji, "Now allow us to return the favour…"

"I'm glad Ryo-chan made the right choice of friends," smiled Ren softly, Ray also smiled.

"Ma… ma… we can't allow Seigaku to get all the glory," said Yukimura, "Now can we…? After all Takeuchi-sensei… you've helped me recover and this is the only way I can say thank you… by showing support…"

Ren smiled, "Thank you… Ray, it seems we have more quests… could you please get them settled? Keigo… I trust that you keep this knowledge to yourself… this is after all playing with life…"

"Of course sir," bowed Ray. Ren left the regulars in the care of Ray and looked like he was going off to take care of Ryoma.

Atobe went home and swore that he would not say a word, "Ore-sama will tell father that you all went home and leave it at that…"

"Thank you, Keigo," said Tezuka.

Everyone looked on while Marui whispered to Eiji, "I told you there was a thing between them…"

"Iie data… the milk diet is a failure," muttered Inui

With that Atobe left, Ray escorted them to their rooms and allowed them to settle down. Time passed and soon it was dinner time, they all were called down to have dinner. Dinner was quiet, no one attempted to say anything; it was as if no one dared to break the silence. The only thing heard was the clatter of silverware on china.

**CATCHINGFISHESCATCHINGFISHESONAHOOKONAHOOKPULLTHEMFROMTHEWATERPUTTHEMINSOMEBATTERYUMYUMGOODYUMYUMGOOD**

"Ochibi…! How are you feeling?" asked Eiji as the regulars surround the bed.

"Fine thanks," smiled Ryoma, "Has anything happened since I was bedridden?"

"Sa… Nothing out of the ordinary," smiled Fuji.

"Don't push yourself to get better," said Oishi.

"Hai, Oishi-mama…" said Ryoma, the others laughed.

"What did you have to talk to Takeuchi-sensei today about?" asked Yukimura.

"I… have a feeling that they're coming today," whispered Ryoma.

"What did he say?" asked Sanada.

"He laughed," shrugged Ryoma.

"_Ryo-chan… you don't have to worry… I'm sure it's another day…" laughed Ren._

"I'm sure he's right," said Momo, "After all, there's nothing out of the ordinary… perfectly quiet for a while now…"

"It's only the calm before the storm," said Ryoma.

BangBangBang

They could hear gun fire, outside the room, Ryoma immediately got out of bed and ran to the door, only to find it locked.

"Otou-san!" called out Ryoma, but her calls were drowned out by more gun fire. "I should have known he'll do this…"

"Ryoma… keep away from the door," ordered Tezuka, Kaidoh dragged the girl away.

"Where is he?" they heard outside, and could recognise it as Nanjiroh. Gun fire could be heard throughout the whole house.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" answered Ren.

"Hand him over… he belongs to me," said Nanjiroh.

"A person is not a possession to be handed around," said Ren.

"Pass him over and I will spare your life," said Nanjiroh.

"Over my dead body," said Ren. "After all… it's my job as a parent to protect their child…"

"That could be arranged, tough luck you're memory came back too late…" laughed Nanjiroh. For a full ten minutes they could hear gun fire, even though it was ten minutes, it felt like a lifetime.

Ryoma, who had enough, broke free of Kaidoh's hold and scared the regulars as she kicked the door down with her bare foot. She ran down the stairs just as Ren shot Nanjiroh and Luna who was behind Ren shot him as well.

"OTOU-SAN!!" screamed Ryoma, as she ran over to him. Ray, who just finished off two men threw a knife at Luna and also ran over to Ren.

"Gomen ne," said Ren as he coughed, his eyes looked lovingly at Ryoma, who looked terrified. "Ray… my dear friend… you have been my companion throughout my whole life… thank you…"

"It was an honour serving you sir," said Ray as he wiped his tears away that had followed, trying not to show weakness.

"I love you dearest," said Ren as he reached up to brush his hand on Ryoma's cheek. They were soft and loving and slowly as if in slow motion they fell lifelessly to the ground.

It would have been a moment of sadness, whoever it was broken as there was soft laughter. They turned to the person, who dared to laugh at this; on the ground lay Luna, chuckling to herself.

"I finally have him," laughed Luna, "After all these years… I've finally got him for myself…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Ryoma.

"I killed him out of Love," laughed Luna. "I won't allow Nanjiroh to kill him… Nanjiroh killed her out of love too."

"Love…?" spat Ryoma.

"Yes… We've loved them since our school years," laughed Luna, "We took comfort in each other… after all they were together… well… not for long…"

"But you're mother…" spat Luna, "those months back… she said she was going to leave him… and take you with her… we knew… we both knew, that she was going to search for my love…"

"We couldn't let them meet now could we?" said Luna with a chuckle, "so Nanjiroh killed her… now they could never meet… and I've killed Ren… I have him all to myself…"

"You're wrong…" said Ryoma softly. Her eyes glittered and she smiled, "Okaa-san and Otou-san are together now… after all they both are no longer living… they'll reunite in heaven…"

"No…!" screamed Luna, "You're lying… you wench… I should…have killed you when I had the chance but I saw his eyes when I look at you…"

"You're right you should have killed me…" said Ryoma as she turned her back on Luna.

Luna looked in rage as she pushed her self to reach for a gun only to meet with darkness as she died of blood loss. Ryoma slowly slipped into unconsciousness and once again meet with darkness.

"RYOMA!?" panicked everyone.

**CATCHINGFISHESCATCHINGFISHESONAHOOKONAHOOKPULLTHEMFROMTHEWATERPUTTHEMINSOMEBATTERYUMYUMGOODYUMYUMGOOD**

A few days passed before Ryoma gained consciousness again. Ryoma stared at the ceiling, blocking out the inquires of the regulars around her. Her eyes were a void and her face held no emotions, slowly her eyes came back to life to show sadness but nothing else. She got up much to the protests the others and breezed passed them as she walked to the wardrobe and pulled some clothes before going to the shower.

They waited for her to come out to at least ask her if she was alright, only for her to breeze passed them and out of the bedroom. The next few days were the same, no words left her mouth but there were signs of acknowledgement, the mere nod of her head and sometimes to looks in their direction. Within those days they watched as she busied herself with work if not for the funeral, then it was for cleaning up or paper work. When they tried to make her speak; nothing was said. It was surprising though, how, Ray was able to understand what Ryoma wanted done with out any verbal communication. They could not do a thing and they felt hopeless… tomorrow was the funeral.

Night fell and the regulars were asleep… not all of them, Eiji was wide awake. He knew that he should be sleeping but he couldn't. He opened his bedroom door quietly as to not wake anyone, and crept out. He walked down the stairs and wondered around. Only to collide into something… more like some one. They landed on the floor as a heap. Eiji looked down and saw he was inches away from Ryoma's face, his heart started to beat faster, as he started to turn red.

He stared at Ryoma's lips, and leaned in slowly as he whispered, "O… Ochibi… suki…"

He immediately realised what he was doing and pulled back to see a blanked face Ryoma staring back at him, he jumped up, "Sorry!"

He ran off back to his room, however that blank face wasn't a blank face… it was a confused face. Eiji who ran back to his room closed the door and leaned against it as if to barricade it. He lifted a hand and touched his lips, his cheek tinged with pink and his heart beating fast as he remembered how her lips looked and how soft her body felt pressed against him.

'How am I going to face her tomorrow?' thought Eiji. 'Why did I do that?'

**CATCHINGFISHESCATCHINGFISHESONAHOOKONAHOOKPULLTHEMFROMTHEWATERPUTTHEMINSOMEBATTERYUMYUMGOODYUMYUMGOOD**

Morning came and they saw no sign of Ryoma, and wondered where she was. It was only when Ray said that she left early to see her father one last time. Eiji felt a knot in his stomach and wondered if it was because of last night.

The funeral was a small ceremony and only few were asked to attend, some came to Ryoma to give their condolence and one of the few was Atobe-san.

"I'm sorry for you're loss, Takeuchi-san," said Atobe-san. Still Ryoma remained silent as she her eyes were still transfixed on the coffin. Eyes not blinking, not a tear fell; the eyes that saw everything but at the same time showed nothing.

"I hope Atobe-san, that you've dropped you're side business as the leader is no longer here," said Ray who was next to Ryoma.

"Yes… I think the straight path is best," said Atobe-san after a minute of silence, "to start afresh… it will do my family good…"

There was silence as the coffin was brought to be cremated, the flames flickered as it licked the coffin hungrily.

"I think I'll go overseas," said Ryoma. Everyone turned to face her, Eiji who had avoided all visual contact snapped his attention towards her, after so many days, she had finally broken her silence. Her eyes still transfixed on the flames; her eyes showed resolve.

"For a year or so… I think it would do me good," said Ryoma, she turned and smiled at everyone, "after all Okaa-san and Otou-san need to be reacquainted with each other… so they can have the house all to themselves…"

Eiji's chest constricted slightly, she was leaving. Ryoma turned to Ray, "Is that alright, Ray-san?"

"I think that's an excellent idea, Ryoma," smiled Ray. "I shall buy the tickets right away…"

"Ray-san…" said Ryoma, Ray looked at Ryoma, "Thank you… for everything…"

"It's been a pleasure…" smiled Ray.

**WOAH!! :SOBS: i killed off Ren!! Now i'm depressed... i really liked him... but the good think is that ray is still around...  
next chapter: ryoma's leaving... and highschool comes round... the thrid years in jr. high are in second yr... and the second years are freshmen... cool... and a newcomer in third yearwith a surprise visit in second yr english... not exactly a surprise...!! THANKS FOR READING!! LUV U!!  
**


	12. Chapter 11

**Secrets Kept**

**He's the next chapter... i'm not exactly sure if it makes sense any more... in other words i think it's getting random... lol... thanks for everyone who's read this story!! YAY!!  
**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Ryoma looked at the two pots above the fire place and smiled, "Okaa-san… Otou-san… take care of the house while we're gone…ne?"

She walked out of the house and looked at it one last time, Ray called out to her, "Ryoma, it's time to go…"

"Hai…!" Ryoma made her way to the black car and looked back at the house. As they drove to the airport, Ryoma idly looked out the window and watched the house pass her by.

They arrived at the airport and started to make their way to the gate, however Ryoma did not expect the three rival team regulars all there to wave her off. She looked at Ray who merely smiled and walked ahead of her.

"Echi… Takeuchi!" greeted Mukahi," you make a better girl than a guy…"

"Why thank you…" smiled Ryoma with a smile, the Hyoutei regulars turned red as they saw the smile.

"We came to see you off Brat," said Atobe.

"I can see that Monkey King, no need to state the obvious," laughed Ryoma.

"We brought you some things," smiled Fuji, "There's some CDs, magazines, food and well other things…"

Ryoma looked into the bag, "thanks…"

"Keep safe Ryoma," said Oishi.

"Make sure you keep in contact brat," said Momo.

"I'll try to remember," said Ryoma.

"I'll like a match with you again when you get back," smiled Yukimura.

Ryoma smiled back, "That's if I'm up to it…"

"Flight 445 is now boarding," said the announcement.

"That's my flight," smiled Ryoma, then she did the most unexpected thing, she gave them all each a hug, "Don't worry… I'll be back…"

Lastly was Eiji who lagged back, Ray called out to her, "Ryoma… please hurry…"

"Yes… I'm coming," called out Ryoma, she pulled Eiji into a hug and kissed him on the cheek. She then ran to catch up with Ray, suitcase in hand, but not before turning around and waved at them. "Have fun at High school!"

Eiji held his cheek where Ryoma had kissed.

_"I'm returning the favour Eiji-sempai…"_

His heat skipped a beat, the others were teasing him but he didn't mind.

'Ochibi called me Eiji-sempai…' thought Eiji.

"I'll see you all in high school!" waved Ryoma as she walked away.

It took everyone a minute or so to register what she said, "Oi… isn't that more than two years away for her?"

**postmanpatpostmanpatpostmanpatranoverhiscatbloodandgutswentflyingpostmanpatwascryinghelearnnevertodrinkanddriveagain**

Years passed and all the regulars were in high school. The once second years of junior high were now freshmen in high school. Coincidently the three rival school regulars were all stuck in the same high school in Kanagawa. There were several times where they would get together and talk but most of the time was spent on the tennis courts. Even though they now go to same school still didn't mean there was no rivalry, after all it was rivalry between dorms now. There were few times where they would hang out and for some reason they thought of one particular girl, whether they were watching a cartoon, listening to music or doing something else.

"You call yourself the Golden pair?" mocked Marui as he returned Oishi's Moon Volley.

"Grr… I'm going to beat you!" said Eiji angrily as he returned Marui's shot.

Oishi sighed with Jackal, "Why bother playing doubles with these two when they could play singles with each other…"

"Come on…! The bell rang," called out Kawamura, even though he retired from being in the tennis club he still supported them. "We'll be late for class…!"

"We'll finish this later," said Marui.

"Ochibi is coming back next year," said Eiji with a smile. Oishi smiled as well and they walked off to get changed and prepare for class.

**postmanpatpostmanpatpostmanpatranoverhiscatbloodandgutswentflyingpostmanpatwascryinghelearnnevertodrinkanddriveagain**

...

"We're here ma'me," said the driver at the front.

The girl's lips curled into a smile and got out of the car, "I guess its back to old school life… Thank you…"

"Shall I come pick you up?"

"Iie… I know you have a lot to do… I can get back on my own," said the girl. She watched as the black car drove away and turned to look at the school, "well… it's better late than ever…"

**postmanpatpostmanpatpostmanpatranoverhiscatbloodandgutswentflyingpostmanpatwascryinghelearnnevertodrinkanddriveagain**

**"I expect that you all studied for today's test,"** said the teacher in English. **"Please clear your desks and you are only allowed to have a dictionary and something to write with."**

"Gin-sensei," greeted the principle as he popped his head through the door, "Could I talk to you for a bit…"

Gin-sensei placed down his test papers back onto his desk and went over to the principal, the now second years watched as Gin-sensei nodded as the principal talked then looked surprise while he looked at something outside the door.

**"Class it seems you'll have the test postponed for a few minutes," said Gin-sensei, "We have a new student in our lovely English class… Please make her feel welcome…" **said Gin-sensei, as the student walked in.

"OMG she is freaking hot!" whistled a boy.

**"Takeuchi Ryoma,"** bowed Ryoma with a smile.

"Are you sure you're a girl, 'cause you look like a hot guy," said a girl.

"Hell no… look at the pretty face, that is definitely a chick," said the boy. Fuji, Eiji, Marui and Yukimura who was in the class shared a look of surprise as they looked at the girl who was supposedly now a second year high schooler. There stood Ryoma who surprisingly looked like she did when they first met her, still young. She wore the black plaited skirt, the white shirt with a neatly done tie, the v-neck jumper and the cream coloured blazer. The only difference that they could see was her hair; it was much longer now and looked lustrous.

**"She's come back from ****Korea****,"** said Gin-sensei, **"Why don't you introduce yourself?"**

**"My name is Ryoma… Takeuchi Ryoma or in ****America**** it would be Ryoma Takeuchi…"** said Ryoma with a shrug. **"I've travelled the world…"**

"Aren't you supposed to still be in elementary school?" asked a girl.

"I'm fourteen," smiled Ryoma and they could see that not only she was fluent in English but also in Japanese, "Not eight…"

**"You've picked quite a time to start class,"** laughed Gin-sensei, he knew somehow that even though his English was well polished some could still hear it a bit like broken English, **"We're about to have a mini test…"**

**"I don't mind,"** said Ryoma, **"I'm only here temporarily…"**

**"My… my… quite confident,"** said Gin-sensei, **"We'll see… please sit at the back…"**

Ryoma walked over to her desk and gracefully sat down; smile still present on her face, her eyes looked out the window and into the sky. She had a dreamily look as her smile was soft and warm.

**"Takeuchi… what are you doing? Start your test…"** said Gin-sensei.

**"I was watching mother and father dance,"** said Ryoma and said nothing else as she looked at her paper and began scribbling. The four regulars in the room looked out the window and to the sky to only see the clear sky and a few cloud. They began their test before they ran out of time… ten minutes passed…

**"Is there something wrong Takeuchi, do you not understand the topic?"** asked Gin-sensei, as Ryoma walked over to the teacher's desk and held out the paper.

**"I have to go to my next class,"** said Ryoma, as she held out the paper.

**"Next class…?"**

**"It's an elective I picked up,"** said Ryoma.

**"Do you need more time for this test? There is still twenty more minutes**," said Gin-sensei.

**"No… I've finished it already**," said Ryoma, as everyone gasped. At least they understood what was said…

**"'Gattaca' is really a strange book,"** shrugged Ryoma, **"and you shouldn't watch the movie if you want to be accurate… I'll be going now…"**

"Shit… not only is she hot, she's smart," drooled a guy. The teacher was left gaping after her as well as some others.

"I don't know if that really happened or if that was just a dream," said Marui as he pinched himself.

"It seems our little princess is back in Japan," giggled Fuji.

Eiji didn't know what he was feeling, he felt happy that she had come back yet it hurt that she didn't seem to acknowledge any of them. Was it because she couldn't see them? Or maybe she wanted to be studious? Whatever the reason was Eiji felt sad.

"Sa… you will never know what happened during English," smiled Fuji, as they all sat down under the shade of a tree near the tennis courts.

"Ryoma…" said Oishi suddenly.

"Sa… how did you know? Is it Mother's intuition?" asked Fuji in surprise.

"No… Ryoma…" said Oishi as he pointed. On the other side of the tennis court; under the shade of a tree sat Ryoma surrounded by books and papers.

"I'm surprised nothing flew away yet," said Niou. When he said that the wind picked up, they watched as some papers started to float up from the pile, however and hand appeared to stop it. Ryoma had somehow sensed that the papers were about to fly away around her there was random males and females. They all looked eagerly at her and when ever the paper looked ready to fly they looked ready to chase it down. The regulars sweat dropped…

"Do you think she's pushing herself too hard?" asked Kawamura. "I mean… she looks overloaded."

They continued to watch as Ryoma quickly went through all the books and papers, like it was second nature to her, she seemed to have finished as she stretched and put away her pens away. She began to gather her books and papers together in a pile; she then hoisted up into her arms, at the same time the guys around her inched forward to offer their assistance. However they did not expect the school's biggest player to offer his aid.

"Nyah…! We have to save Ochibi!" said Eiji as he stood up.

"Eiji wait and see how it pans out," said Fuji as he pulled at his friend's sleeve. They watched as they could tell the player trying to charm Ryoma, and could see that Ryoma was politely refusing his offer. However they could see that he was insistent and they did not expect the next thing that happened. It seemed that Ryoma had given up and allowed him to carry her things. However, the regulars watched in amusement as she practically dumped her things onto the unexpected arms. They couldn't see it but they could tell that she was enjoying torturing him. He barely made a few steps as the pile wobbled. It seemed Ryoma had had her fun and took the pile away from him and briskly walked off; nothing fell.

"I guess we don't need to worry about her," said Yagyuu.

"It's her first day of school and look at all that work!" exclaimed Jackal. "I'm glad that I didn't come two weeks into the school year… I don't have to catch up…"

"That really doesn't look like its catch up work though," said Yukimura with a frown, "I wonder why there's so much work."

"She did skip two grades," said Renji. "It may have been all the work for the two years she skipped… if my calculations are correct… all that paper work may have been all the work for her to catch up…

"This year is going to be interesting," said Atobe, "After all, that brat is back and is already stirring trouble."

"She pretty smart though," said Yukimura, "in English she did the test on the text we're doing… it seems she already read the book…"

"She did come from America," said Inui, "so there is a high percentage she already read most of the books that is used in English…"

"But the text 'Gattaca' doesn't seem to be a casual book to read," said Marui. "Even if it was in Japanese I doubt I would even read the book for my own leisure…"

"Don't forget she did tell us in her letter that she'll be busy," pointed out Oishi.

_Next time you'll see me, I'll be in high school too! I'll be pretty busy for the first few weeks that you'll see me around… don't worry, I'm not ignoring you… it only means that I have a hectic schedule and won't be able to talk to you all…_

"But she should at least let us help if it's about school," said Momo.

"Letting you help is like purposely making her fail," muttered Kaidoh.

"What did you say?!" shouted Momo.

"You heard me!" hissed Kaidoh.

Everyone sighed as they went at each others throats, Atobe however agreed with Momo, "That brat could have graciously asked for our help if it is piling up like that…"

"Nyah…! But Ochibi is independent…" frowned Eiji.

"Eiji's right," said Fuji, "Ryoma is the type of person to do things by herself… and besides… it looked like she breezed through the whole thing…"

"I wonder what dorm she's in..." murmured Yagyuu.

"Definitely, Dorm 1," said Momo, "after all she's from Seigaku…"

"But not all students in Seigaku are in Dorm 1," said Kirihara. "That Arai dude is in Dorm 2 with us…"

A few days later

"Alright… fess up… who had Takeuchi in their Dorm?" asked Mukahi. They all shook their heads, "How can she not be Dorm 1, 2 or 3? Is there a new Dorm that we don't know about…?"

"It's strange… Ryoma hasn't been attending any of the classes with us," said Yukimura, "Do you think she got pushed down?"

"Not in any of our classes," said Momo as he shook his head.

"Ochibi can't leave us without a good bye!" exclaimed Eiji.

"Err… excuse me, Eiji-san…" they turned around to see a third year girl looking unsure, they recognised her the Co-Head of Dorm 1, "Could you tell me where I could find Takeuchi–san?"

"Eh…? No… I haven't seen her anywhere today…" said Eiji.

"Is she in trouble?" asked Oishi in worry mode.

"Iie, Oishi-san," said the girl, "I have to pass on her badge to her…"

"Badge…?" questioned everyone.

"Third years' badge," said the girl as she indicated her own badge, "Takeuchi-san got promoted to third year few days ago…"

"Third year…?!" exclaimed everyone.

"I thought she didn't want to be left behind in Junior high by herself and now she's breezing passed us," said Momo.

"Takeuchi-san has good reason to finish quickly though," said the upper class girl.

"How do you know?" asked Renji.

"During English the teacher asked her why she was skipping so many grades…" explained the girl, "Takeuchi-san replied that the sooner she was done with schooling, the sooner she would be able to find stability…"

"Stability…? She wants to find a job?" asked Oishi.

"Iie… it's to do with her father's company, TR Inc…." said the girl.

"Ah… Ore-sama sees," said Atobe, everyone looked to him for an explanation, "After that brat's father's death the company was passed to Ray until the brat was fine to take over… however the workers are reluctant to listen to Ray…"

"So Ryoma is rushing through school to take over the company," said Inui as he scribbled away.

"That would be correct…" said the girl, "Now if you'll excuse me I have to find her…"

With that the girl left…

**next chapter... it's really random... a visit to an orphanage... a short fairytale... the last chapter before the prologue... yay!! Thanks for reading!!  
**


	13. Chapter 12

**Secrets Kept**

**here's the last chapter!! yay!! sorry about my note b4... it was supposed to say epilogue not prologue... :LAUGHS: i think my brains being scrambled right now... lol... and and as the part how luna and nanjiroh knew each other... they were all going to the same highschool... like Atobe and Ren... and since the big boss (nanjiroh) is dead i'm hoping that syndicate disappears... prepare yourself for more randomness!! Enjoy the Random reads!!**

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

"Ryoma…!" called out Oishi. The regulars just came out of the change room to go for practise and Ryoma was on the bench sitting down looking up at the sky.

"Eh…? Oishi-sempai…" greeted Ryoma, "What are you doing here?"

"We have practise," pointed out Marui, "We could be asking you the same thing…"

"Ah… this is the only time I have a moment to myself," said Ryoma with a stretch, before replacing her shoes with rollerblades. "Well… so much to do and so little time to do it… Bye Sempai… have fun at practise…"

"I think we should call you sempai now," smiled Yukimura.

"Eh…? Why…?" asked Ryoma.

"You're in a higher year level than us," said Fuji.

"You're all older," pointed out Ryoma, and then smirked, "Stuff it… force of habit… even if you do call me 'sempai' I doubt I'll answer…"

"Nyah…! What Dorm is Ochibi in?" called out Eiji as Ryoma skated away.

"I go home!" waved Ryoma as she sped off.

"No one would really believe she is a sempai now," said Momo as they watched her zoom round a corner and disappeared from view.

"She still looks like an eight year old," said Kirihara.

"What are you all lingering over there?" shouted the coach, they all cringed and rushed towards the courts.

The next day they decided to go over to the Takeuchi manor to visit, after all it wasn't a school day, only to bump into Ryoma as she was walking out of a supermarket arms full of bags.

"Eh…? Stocking up for winter or something?" asked Kirihara.

"Ah… sempai… what are you all doing here?" asked Ryoma as she spotted them.

"On our way to visit you," said Renji, "apparently we arrived just in time…"

"Eh…?" frowned Ryoma as the group took the bags from her and carried it, they started walking but stopped as Ryoma didn't move from her spot.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Oishi.

"I appreciate the help but I'm going in the opposite direction," said Ryoma as she pointed to the opposite direction for good measure.

"Did you move…?" asked Fuji.

"No…" snorted Ryoma "but I have errands to run before I go home."

They followed Ryoma and saw different types of houses which looked fine and rich but they stopped in front of a building that looked out of place. It looked like a haunted house with the worn paint the broken shutters and the long grass.

A head popped out of the long grass, "Ah…! It's Ryoma!"

Then all of a sudden more heads popped up like mushrooms from all over and made their way over to Ryoma who just came through the gate only to be bombarded by children younger and older than her.

"Thank you for the chocolate nee-san!"

"Can nee-san tuck me in to bed?"

"Nee-san, marry me!"

"Everyone, I think Ryoma-san would appreciate it if you all got off of her before you all bury her," clapped a woman, with a friendly face, navy blue hair and brown eyes. She stood with a two other children that looked around about sixteen; a girl and a boy.

"What are you doing here woman?" spat the boy.

Ryoma tilted her head, "I don't recall turning eighteen… I did promise to come today… after all there is still some things to discuss…"

A little girl tugged on Ryoma's sleeve and looked up at her cutely, "Who are those boys behind nee-san?"

"They're helping Santa," winked Ryoma, "Santa forgot to stop by last year so they came bearing gifts since Santa's asleep now…"

The others who were old enough to know there was no Santa all frowned and thought, 'What the hell is she talking about…?'

Ryoma reached behind the girl's ear and pulled out an orange and then with the other hand pulled out an apple, "See…? The power of food…"

Everyone sweat dropped, 'What the hell..?'

"How the hell does she do that?" whispered Momo, they all shrugged their shoulders. They watched as the young children all rushed over for Ryoma to magically pull fruit from behind their ears. Mysteriously, the bags that the regulars were holding were becoming lighter and lighter until some of them didn't have any in them.

"Now that's scary," shivered Marui.

"I don't like fruit," muttered the boy who was next to the woman and had called her a woman in spite.

"Dan… Kelly… Mikan-san…" waved Ryoma as she made her way over to the three.

"You really shouldn't have done this," said Mikan.

Ryoma shrugged, "I felt that I needed to bring something when I come to visit…"

"Nee… How do you do that?" asked Kelly.

"A magician never tells their secrets," winked Ryoma as she pulled out a small box of strawberries from behind Kelly's ears and handed them to her. Kelly smiled brightly as she accepted the box.

"Dan-san… what do you wish for?" grinned Ryoma.

"I'd wish you'd disappeared," muttered Dan.

"Wish not granted," said Ryoma and pulled out a can of tuna, "Got this for you…"

Dan looked at it, and mumbled, "Thanks…"

"Are they really Santa's helpers?" asked a girl.

"No…" laughed Ryoma, "They're my sempai-tachi from school… don't worry their nice…"

"Why don't you all come in?" gestured Mikan.

"Hope we aren't troubling you," smiled Fuji.

"Not at all, you're welcome any time," smiled Mikan. Mikan and Ryoma later excused themselves from the group and talked in the kitchen while the regulars were surrounded by the young children and Kelly and Dan.

"So… what is this place?" asked Momo.

"An orphanage… Duh…" scoffed Dan.

"Dan…!" warned Kelly, "Be nice to the guests…"

"Why they all come from comfortable families… why bother come and visit us?" said Dan. "Even that woman looks well looked after… her parents are probably spoiling her…"

"That's enough," growled Momo.

"You mustn't assume thing without evidence," smiled Fuji. "Ryoma isn't spoilt as you think… after all she is an independent girl…"

"Her independent…?" laughed Dan, "She looks like she's eight… shouldn't she be at school?"

"She is…" said Yukimura, "and believe it or not she skipped three years, she technically is our Sempai…"

"She's like you actually," said Inui.

"How so?" asked Kelly in curiosity.

"She doesn't have parents," said the regulars in unison.

Dan frowned, "but she isn't in an orphanage…"

"Nah… Ray-san, he butler was called to become her legal guardian..." said Kirihara.

"She has someone to fall back on," said Dan. "She wasn't abandoned…"

"No she had it worse," said Renji. "She saw her mother and father die right in front of her…"

"Her… parents were… murdered?" stuttered Kelly; the regulars nodded grimly.

"She didn't get to know her real father, only spent not even a month with him before he was killed," said Yukimura sadly.

"Did her parents separate…?" questioned Dan.

"Iie… Her mother was told that he died and she was carrying Ryoma at the time," said Sanada, "she married someone else to have a stable life for her child…"

"Only to be killed by the same man she married," said Tezuka. The two sixteen year old orphans shivered.

Mikan and Ryoma came back smiling, "Thank you so much…"

"Nee-san leaving already?" asked a five year old boy.

"I've got curfew," laughed the girl.

"Tell us a story!" said a girl.

"Yes… Story!" joined the other.

Ryoma made a face, "I don't know any… err… once upon a time… there lived a prince and princess… they…"

"They loved each other very much and lived happily ever after…" shrugged Ryoma.

Everyone sweat dropped.

"That wasn't a story!" whined a girl.

Ryoma plopped herself down on the hand board floor and leaned against the wall under the window, "Hmm… let's see…"

"Long, long time ago… in a land not far from here," said Ryoma, with a thoughtful look, "there lived a couple who were deeply in love with each other…"

"Not again…" whined a boy.

"No… I haven't finished," said Ryoma, "The man will be called prince charming and the woman… princess… they loved each other very much…"

"However there were two others who were jealous… one will be called dark prince and the other dark princess," narrated Ryoma with a satisfied smile, "The dark prince was in love with the princess and the dark princess was in love with prince charming… so they plotted together how to split them up… they plotted and plotted until they came with only one solution… to kill prince charming…"

Everyone gasped, "They carried out the plan however there was something they did not anticipate…"

"What was that?" asked a girl.

"The princess was pregnant," said Ryoma, "When the princess heard the news of her one true love's death she was devastated… she wasn't able to tell him the good news… he was going to be a father… dark prince took his chance while she was vulnerable… err… I mean weak and confused and persuaded her to marry him. At the same time prince charming was still alive… however he had lost his memory…"

**ENGINEENGINENUMBERNINEONITSWAYTOCLEMINTINEIFTHETRAINROLLSOFFTHETRACKWILLIGETMYMONEYBACK?**

"Prince charming took his revenge and killed dark prince however, did not see dark princess was behind him and he was killed also," said Ryoma as the children started crying, "The prince's guard saw this and killed the evil princess… darn… I should have called them evil instead of dark… and prince charming and the princess lived happily ever after…"

"How could they have lived happily ever after?" cried a girl, "They both died…"

"Oh… but they did," smiled Ryoma, "You've heard the story… and you remember them… so they always be together in you're mind and your heart…"

Then she looked out the window, "Look up at the sky… what, do you see?"

They turned to the window and only saw the blue sky with a few scattered clouds.

"Blue sky and clouds," said a boy.

"What does that cloud look like?" asked Ryoma as she pointed at one. They all looked carefully at the cloud that she pointed at.

"Two people dancing," said Kelly as she clapped her hands together in delight.

"Yes… they're together in heaven… and every time you look up at the sky… you'll see the two of them dancing together," said Ryoma as her eyes still lingered up at the sky, "an endless waltz… just the two of them… showing everyone that their love for each other is endless…"

"Wow…" gapped a girl. "So… they really did live happily ever after…"

"What happened their daughter? Little princess?" asked a boy.

"She travelled around studying and helping people along the way," said Ryoma with a shrug, "her story isn't finished…"

"Eh…? Why?" asked another boy.

"She still needs to go to school," winked Ryoma, "There are people who aren't very happy in prince charming's kingdom and so she has to learn everything fast and save the kingdom before they go against the kingdom…"

"Won't you tell us what happened?" asked a girl.

"I don't know myself," said Ryoma in amusement, "maybe I'll leave that story for another time… Kelly or Dan might have a story to tell though…"

Kelly and Dan who looked sad at the moment jumped when they heard their name. Dan frowned, "Hell no! I'm not telling any story!"

Ryoma just smiled as she walked out, "I'll see you all next week…"

The regulars followed her out; Dan looked down and thought about everything that happened before doming to a decision. He pushed through the crowd that stood near the door.

"Ryoma-san…!" called out Dan and ran toward her.

Ryoma looked mildly surprised when Dan called her; she turned around only to be hugged by the older boy.

"Thank you… and I'm sorry…" said Dan.

Ryoma returned the hug, when they pulled away, Ryoma flashed a smile, "Don't know why you're sorry… it's nice getting to know you… don't worry about saving the tuna… after all… I believe there's more inside."

Ryoma winked at him before she walked away with a wave. When the orphans walked back inside they found three bags full of canned food with a stick note: _Long lasting food… believe in the power of food._ The older orphans and Mikan all laughed when they read the message.

Dan smiled and hoped than the little princess would reach her happily ever after soon or another character would appear and try to take matter in his own hand and find the happiness for her.

Ryoma walked home with a smile on her face, while the others thought it was quite creepy since it reminded them of Fuji.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Fuji in amusement.

"Mm… I think the little princess is going to have an interesting life," said Ryoma. They all exchanged looks with each other and smiled; they decided that maybe in the story they could add a few knights to protect the little princess.

"Sempai… I'm not busy anymore… since I finished all the paper work for the next few months…let's go somewhere…" said Ryoma. "And it's fun to know that thanks to Otou-san and his court order... the media won't interview me for anything..."

**there's the last chapter... told you it was going to be random... ****i really hope this chapter sort of cleared somethings up... if not i would be happy to answer your questions... **  
**Next time: the epilogue... a graduation... the button tradition... tickets... burgers and a peck...  
**


	14. Epilogue

**Secrets Kept**

**hello!! sorry about the last chapter... as some people realised i didn't really type out the whole fairytale... i sort of cut it short and the scene break was acting like a time skip kind of thing... thank you to all the reviewers!! i love you all heaps!! LOL... hope it was a good story... and please enjoy this last section of it!! a Little eijiryo moment in here!!  
**

**EPILOGUE**

"Nyah…! Ochibi is graduating today!" said Eiji.

"Man… she's graduating before any of us," whined Momo, "That brat's too smart…"

They watched as the principal called out the students one by one to receive their certificate and there were applauses. However what was strange was that when Ryoma was called everyone stood up and applauded which surprised the regulars.

They watched as Ryoma walked up with an air of confidence and bounce in every step she took the certificate. After the ceremony the graduates were all dragged around to take pictures or to be congratulated.

"Congratulations Ryoma," said the regulars when they reached her.

"Sempai-tachi," greeted Ryoma, when she turned to face them. They realised that she was missing her tie and her top button was undone.

"You were planning to give away your button?" asked Fuji.

"Why would I want to do that to a perfectly good shirt that I could use again?" Ryoma frowned.

They all sighed and remembered that Ryoma was brought up in America, 'it can't be helped…'

Ryoma was tugging Eiji's tie loose and took it. She then redid the tie and tightened it around her collar.

"Oi… you do know that Eiji-sempai still needs that tie?" asked Momo.

Ryoma grinned, "Maybe that's why I took it… I'm kidding…"

Ryoma reached into her pocket and pulled out her tie, "Want my tie?"

Eiji just stared at the tie for a moment but even thought it was a moment Ryoma used this opportunity to withdraw her offer, "I guess Eiji-sempai doesn't want to have a tie anymore…"

"Nyah… I don't know how to do a tie," said Eiji.

Ryoma smiled and looked up at Eiji, "Kneel down sempai… I seriously can't reach…"

Eiji knelt down to Ryoma's height since all of them were practically towering over her. She placed the tie around his neck and looked at it thoughtfully.

"What's wrong?" asked Fuji with an amused smile.

"I'm trying to remember how to do a tie…" said Ryoma as she stared at the tie around Eiji's neck.

"You just did one," pointed out Marui.

"I did it for myself but when I do it for someone else…" Ryoma frowned, before she walked behind Eiji and wrapped her arms around Eiji's neck which caused him to turn red. The regulars watched in amazement as Ryoma did Eiji's tie without looking at her handiwork.

"Tada…"

"Ii… instead of the traditional: giving the second button away… swap ties" muttered Inui.

"I'm not a dude… seriously…" sighed Ryoma, "that's a tradition for guys to give their second button to their girlfriend because it's closest to the heart. But this uniform doesn't exactly agree with the tradition anyway…"

"You know the tradition then," said Yukimura.

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Ryoma.

"Is it American tradition to swap ties on graduation?" asked Kawamura.

"Not that I know of… but some people swap ties when they start going out with each other…" said Ryoma.

"So… you guys are dating now…" smiled Fuji.

"We are…?" asked Ryoma, "I never knew…"

"Eh…? Then why…?" started Oishi.

"He's tie looked cooler…" shrugged Ryoma.

"Eh…"

"Ne… Eiji-sempai… I remember you said you'd shout me burgers…" grinned Ryoma.

"Nyah…! When did I say that?" exclaimed Eiji.

"A few years ago, I think" thought Ryoma.

"I guess so…" said Eiji as he scratched the back of head, "Only today, Nyah… It's Ochibi's graduation…"

"Us too?" asked Momo as he jumped in.

"Nyah…! No!" whined Eiji.

"Not today… we've all got somewhere to go don't we, Momo?" said Fuji pleasantly.

"A… now I remember now… I guess we need to do a rain check," laughed Momo nervously.

"Me, too," said everyone at the same time.

"Are you guys free this Sunday?" asked Ryoma.

"Yes… why?" asked Fuji with a smile. Ryoma rummaged her pocket and pulled out a few tickets and handed them over, "Ballet…?"

"I'll appreciate it if you all came…" smiled Ryoma.

"Sa… what is the special occasion?" asked Yukimura.

"I've got a solo," said Ryoma.

"You… ballet…?" asked Momo.

"Sa… it makes sense now…" said Fuji, they all turned to him, "you're gracefulness in tennis comes from ballet… I'm sure we'll be all there…"

"Thank you…" smiled Ryoma.

"I guess it's only you two today," said Marui. "Sorry we can't celebrate with you but we always have tomorrow…"

Ryoma just smiled, "That's alright I guess… you're all shouting tomorrow…"

They all sweat dropped, and excused themselves before they had to shout her food for the month. Ryoma grabbed onto Eiji's arm, "They're strange…"

Eiji just grinned and looked surprise when Ryoma pecked the side of his mouth. Ryoma let go of him, walked a few steps in front of him, turned to face him and grinned at him, "Suki…"

She then winked and ran off, "I'll race you to the burger place…"

Eiji turned red for a minute before he grinned and chased after her.

Owari…

**There you go!! the end of the story!! it's pretty sad... all things have to come to an end... i'm thinking of writing up another POT story... but i keep trying to think of a story line... like i mentioned in my other story 'Why Tennis' was was hoping to write a story called "Galaxy of stars" but when i think about it... i seriously don't know what i'll write... to many ideas and it can't exactly fit in the one story... hmmm... oh well... Hope you enjoyed this story as much as i enjoyed writing it!! luv you heaps!! hugs and kisses...!**


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